Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight
by emm297
Summary: Sequel to Once Upon a Sakura Flower. Aizen's back, and with a whole new army. And if Sakura doesn't play her cards right, she just might lose this game. So just what is in store for her and Hitsugaya now? HitsuXOC. UPDATED! Chapter 15 now available!
1. Let's Go

Emm297: Hey everyone, welcome to the 1st chapter of the sequel to OUSF, Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight (OUMT)!

Gosh, I'm so excited!

I highly recommend that you read Once Upon a Sakura Flower (OUSF) before you start reading this fic, but it's ok if you don't want to. So, for the benefit of these people, I shall state here the 3 main points of OUSF.

Toushime Sakura is the new 9th squad captain, and her lieutenant is Hisagi Shuuhei.

Sakura is the girlfriend of Hitsugaya Toushiro.

They have been sent, along with Matsumoto, Yumichika, Ikkaku and Renji, to the real world to investigate the appearance of the Arrancar.

Sakura: Hey everyone, Emm-chan does not own Bleach, she only owns me and my Zanpakutou.

Emm297: Yup, so let's start the 1st chapter of Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight!

==x==

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I DISREGARDED THE BOUNT ARC. JUST SO YOU KNOW.**

It was exactly nine thirty in the morning and Sakura was already eating a breakfast of buttered toast and green tea. Her dark brown hair was in her usual ponytail, tied up with the white ribbon which Hitsugaya gave her when they were still living in Rukongai. A purple backpack could be seen on the floor, leaning against her table leg.

Finishing the last bit of her toast, Sakura took her plate and mug and walked over to her sink. She turned on the tap and started humming a random tune while washing up. Just then, there came a knock on the door.

"Coming!" she called, as she hurriedly dried her mug and plate. She ran over to the door and slid it open.

"Sakura, are you ready to go?" Hitsugaya Toushiro stood in the doorway with a dark blue bag in his right hand.

"Yeah, just let me get my backpack."

Turning around, Sakura rushed over to her table and picked up her bag. After taking one last look around, she joined her boyfriend outside her room.

"Remind me again why we need to be at the Senkaimon twenty minutes earlier?" Sakura asked, as they were walking out of her division, aka the 9th.

"Yamamoto sou-taicho wants to brief us on some other details," replied Hitsugaya. "Now, come on, or we'll be late!" He took Sakura by the hand, and in a flash, they were gone.

==x==

"Ahh, Hitsugaya-taicho and Toushime-taicho. You're here." Said Yamamoto, as soon as the two captains came into his view.

"Now, I just want to brief you on some details regarding your posting," he started. "One, as soon as you get there, proceed to the Urahara shop for your gigai. I have already informed him that you will be dropping by today. Two, let me remind you that it is your duty, as Shinigami to ensure that all hollows are exterminated and that all pluses should be sent to Soul Society. Three, as captains, you are responsible for your team as well as for yourselves. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai, Yamamoto sou-taicho. But may I ask, what do we do after we get our gigai?" Sakura inquired.

"Just do as you deem fit." Came the old man's answer, right before he flash-stepped away.

"TAICHO! SAKURA-TAICHO-CHAN!" came an all-too-familiar voice. Matsumoto came into view, with Yumichika, Renji and Ikkaku walking behind her.

"Ohaiyo, Rangiku-chan!" greeted Sakura, as she was pulled into a tight morning embrace by Matsumoto.

"Can we get going now?" Ikkaku asked, with a hint of excitement in his voice. "I wanna kill some hollows!"

As if on cue, the Senkaimon opened, and the 6 of them stepped into it, following the hell butterfly that fluttered in before them.

==x==

"Urahara-san! Are you in there?" called Sakura, as she stepped into the Urahara Shop, closely followed by her 5 other companions.

"Sakura-san! Over here!" Urahara yelled back. It seemed that his voice was coming from the sitting room.

Leading the way, Sakura took a turn at the left and saw Urahara sitting by the table, with his fan spread out in front of his face.

"I'm assuming you need a gigai each?" Urahara said. Before they could answer, the cupboard nearby opened, and 6 gigais could be seen.

Ikkaku was the first to walk over to the cupboard, with Matsumoto, Renji and Yumichika going next. Sakura and Hitsugaya went last to collect their gigais.

"Dang, this thing is so difficult to squeeze into…" cursed Ikkaku.

Sakura laughed, causing the others to look up at her. Despite being the last to obtain her gigai, Sakura was the fastest at slipping it on.

"Sakura-taicho, how can you even squeeze in this thing?" Renji asked, as he continued with the battle with his gigai.

"It should be because I've had practice. I was posted here once, remember?" Sakura responded. "Say, Urahara-san, why are all our gigais in the Karakura High Uniform?" she asked while looking down at herself. Everyone's gigais were also in the white and grey clothing.

"Ahh, I was wondering when you would ask that." He answered. "The best thing for you to do now, is to go over to Ichigo's school. Get some answers from him, you know?"

Half-nodding and half-shrugging, Sakura returned to focusing her attention on her teammates' miserable attempt to put on their gigais.

==x==

_At Karakura High School…_

"_Hey, who are those people?"_

"_Look at that one! Shouldn't he be in Elementary School?"_

"_They look strange to me…"_

"_Isn't that Toushime-san? I thought she moved?"_

"_What's with that guy's wooden sword?"_

"Ikkaku-san, I told you not to bring your wooden sword along! See? Everyone is staring!" whispered Renji.

"Hey, it's not my fault you said I couldn't bring a real one!" Ikkaku retorted.

"It's not we who said so. It's the law here." Yumichika said.

"I just don't understand! What kind of stupid law says that you can't carry a real sword?" said an exasperated Ikkaku.

"A human one. Are you that idiotic?" Matsumoto interjected, and the 4 of them started to argue about Ikkaku bringing a wooden sword to school.

"Shut up, you guys. Don't start a commotion and just walk quietly!" Hitsugaya said calmly.

"Okay, taicho!" Matsumoto replied.

Sakura giggled and looked up. "Here we are, this is the room!" she exclaimed, stopping underneath a sign that read '1-3'.

"Open the door," Hitsugaya instructed. Renji immediately stepped forward and slid open the wooden classroom door.

"Morning, how have you been Ichigo?" Renji greeted cheerfully. Ichigo, who was cleaning the blackboard, looked up and a look of surprise filled his face.

"R-Renji! Ikkaku! Yumichika! Rangiku-san! Sakura! Toushiro!" He exclaimed.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya to you!" Hitsugaya replied angrily as usual.

Ichigo ignored him and looked at Sakura. "Why are you guys here anyway?"

"Orders from the sou-taicho himself." Sakura explained. "We're to investigate the recent appearances of the Arrancar as well as to prepare for the battle with them by joining forces with the Shinigami Representative in the real world."

"Who's the Arrancar?"

This time, it was Renji who spoke. "You fought without knowing who the enemy was?"

Ichigo looked confused. "Fighting?"

Suddenly, there came a voice from the windows. "Idiot! Those guys that tore you up the other day!"

Ichigo turned. There, in the window, stood the ever-familiar face of Kuchiki Rukia.

"Ru…Rukia!" Ichigo said, surprised.

Sakura looked over at the raven-haired girl. Rukia smiled a little before a frown donned her face. Sensing what was about to happen, Sakura quickly stepped in front of Ichigo and her arm came in contact with Rukia's right foot.

"Sakura-taicho!" Rukia cried out. "Wh…what?"

"Sakura, what the heck were you doing?" asked Hitsugaya.

Sakura cast Hitsugaya an apologetic look before looking back at Rukia. "If you don't mind, I would like to speak to Ichigo first. And after I'm done with him, you can do whatever you want to him." Then, she took him by the arm before jumping out the window.

==x==

"Sakura! What's up with you?" Ichigo demanded as they landed on the 5th floor of a block in the school.

"Baka! What's wrong with _you_? You look so damn scared and worried, and it's not the Ichigo I know! The real Ichigo would face his problems bravely and would do everything he could to fix it!"

Ichigo clammed up immediately and stared at his feet. "Well, people change, and the Ichigo you knew no longer exists."

"Don't give me that crap! People don't change after losing one battle, people change after a lot of stuff happens to them! So what happened to you?"

"I couldn't protect anyone, okay?" Ichigo suddenly yelled, and Sakura was momentarily stunned by his sudden outburst. Ichigo turned to face the railings and started pounding it with his fists.

"I couldn't protect Chad. And I couldn't even protect Inoue! I had to watch her get beaten up by the Arrancar, and I couldn't do a thing about it 'cause I was so darn weak! Don't you know how frustrating it is? And when I saw Inoue today, covered in bandages from head to toe, I felt horrible, and I kept telling myself that it was my fault! My own damn fault! All because I was too weak!"

Sakura placed her hand on his right shoulder. "Ichigo, don't you get it? It's not about their injuries, it's not whether you let them get beaten up," she turned him to face her before continuing. "It's about what you're gonna do about it that matters the most. That's what the Ichigo I know would realize too."

Ichigo's eyes widened for a moment before resuming their normal shape. Sakura watched as his expression became one of deep concentration.

"But what if the Ichigo you knew didn't realize that at all?"

Sakura flashed him an encouraging smile. "Then I hope the Ichigo I knew realizes it now."

It took a moment for those words to sink in, but Ichigo managed to return the smile. "Yeah, I think he realizes it now. Thanks, Sakura."

"Anytime. And you better be prepared. Rukia's getting ready to kill you."

"Oh haha." He replied sarcastically, as the two of them walked back to the classroom.

==x==

Emm297: There's chapter one of Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight! Hope you guys enjoyed it! :)

Happy new year 2009 to one and all, and thanks for the overwhelming response to the 1st installment, Once Upon a Sakura Flower! I can never say this enough, but you guys rock!

Well then, catch ya in the 2nd chapter of the 2nd installment to the 'Once Upon a' series! Review or add as story alert or favourite story please! That's the best new year's present ever :)

See you soon!


	2. Insecure

Emm297: WELCOME TO THE 2ND CHAPTER OF ONCE UPON A MOONLIT TWILIGHT! Sorry for the long wait, but for me a new school year just started 3 weeks ago and I have a lot of stuff to do. Plus, it's a big jump from secondary 2 to secondary 3 in Singapore (grade 8 to 9 I think, if you're in America or such)

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach or any characters, only the stuff you don't recognize from the manga belong to her :)

Emm297: Well said, well said. Now let's get on with chapter 2!

==x==

"Taicho! Sakura-taicho-chan! Would you like to come crash Ichigo's ceiling with us?" Matsumoto inquired. The whole gang was standing just outside the Kurosaki Residence and Ikkaku had suggested they enter the house via Ichigo's ceiling.

"Matsumoto, we have doors for reasons, you know?" replied Hitsugaya.

"Aww, come on! I know you guys have grown a little taller, and anyway we're still taller than you, so you should fit in just fine!" It was true; Hitsugaya and Sakura had grown till they were at least 158cm. Now they weren't one of the shortest people in Soul Society anymore.

"I'm with Shiro-chan on this one. I don't really think going in by his bedroom ceiling is such a good idea…" Sakura said to her friend.

"Okay then, I can't force you either. We'll see you inside! Ja ne!" Matsumoto said, as the 4 of them jumped up onto the rooftop of Ichigo's house.

"So, are we going in now?" asked Sakura, turning to face the 10th squad captain.

"Well, we could…But let's just wait awhile." He said, as he took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze before leading her to the pavement and gesturing her to sit down.

Sakura looked up at him and flashed him a smile before resting her head on his shoulder. "I could stay here forever," she mumbled, adjusting her head slightly so that it rested on the area nearer to his neck.

"Here as in Karakura Town, or on my shoulder?" he chuckled.

After that, it was completely silent. Sakura took in his scent; it smelled strongly of peppermint and snow. A weird combination, but she loved it all the same.

A few minutes passed. "We should go up now." Hitsugaya said, gently removing her head from his shoulder.

"I guess so. Come on. His window's this way." Sakura said, as she led the way. Suddenly, she felt as though someone had poured icy cold water into her veins. The coldness travelled up her body and into her head, demanding entrance to her thoughts. Sakura closed her eyes, trying to focus on the source, but the feeling vanished abruptly.

'_What… what was that?,' Kasumi spoke._

'I… I don't know,' she replied.

"Is something wrong?" Hitsugaya asked, noticing the sudden blank look on Sakura's face.

Sakura shook her head. 'What was that…'

As if on cue, her Shinigami cell phone let out a shrill ring. She pulled the phone out of her pocket and answered the call.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ah! Sakura-san!" came a familiar voice. Immediately, the image of a shopkeeper dressed in green and white came into her mind.

"Urahara-san?"

"I would like you to drop by for a second," he replied. All of a sudden, his tone changed. "It's urgent," he said, emphasizing on the word urgent.

"Got it," Sakura said, before putting her phone back into her pocket. "Hitsugaya-chan, I've got to go see Urahara-san. It's urgent."

Hitsugaya smiled and nodded in understanding. "Be careful. I'll see you later."

Placing a small kiss on his cheek, Sakura spun around and ran off in the opposite direction.

'Perhaps he has answers…' she thought, as she rounded a corner.

==x==

"Sakura-san! Nice to see you got here so fast!" Urahara greeted, motioning for her to take a seat opposite him.

"Urahara-san, could I ask you some-"

"You felt something, didn't you?" His tone completely reversed itself. It was now much more serious, hard and cold.

"How… how did you know…" Sakura's voice trailed off.

"Sakura-san, I am going to tell you something very important. Please listen carefully."

Sakura began to nod when without warning, her head started to spin. The ice-cold water began to flow through her again, and she felt it go all the way up to her head once more. She felt her hands instinctively go up and clutch her head, which was shaking like mad.

Then, the pain stopped.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly. It was pitch black, and she could see nothing.

"Urahara-san! Urahara-san! Are you here?" she called out.

No response.

Out of the blue, she heard someone clapping. Looking around for the source, she saw a cloaked figure walking towards her.

"My my my, Sakura-san. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Who… who are you?" her voice trembled as she struggled to recall whose voice it was.

"You'll find out in due course. Let this be a… signal of sorts."

"Signal?"

"Yes, signal. You're going to become the bad guy in this game, like it or not." Came the voice, as it faded away before completely disappearing with the cloaked figure.

"Wait! Wait! Come back! What do you mean signal?" Sakura yelled out, scanning the area for the cloaked figure.

But he wasn't there anymore.

==x==

"Sakura-san, I see you've awoke." Urahara smiled his trademark smile, as he watched Sakura get up slowly from the sofa.

"Nani… what am I doing here?" Sakura queried.

"You passed out for about 2 minutes." Urahara replied. "Now, tell me. Did you have that same feeling again?"

Sakura nodded slightly and proceeded to tell him about her 'vision'.

"I see. Sakura-san. I'm going to say something very important. You've got to listen closely," Urahara started. "That feeling that you experienced, is a method of penetration. A method of penetration into one's mind. In other words, whoever was doing that to you wanted to talk to you, or to read your thoughts, or even to plant an image in your mind."

"Penetrate my mind? Why?"

"Like I said. He or she could be trying to convey a message to you. What exactly did the person in your vision say?"

"Something about me being evil… I can't remember… My mind's all fuzzy."

"The after-effects of the penetration. Well then, Sakura-san. I doubt you'll get the feeling again, since I assume that the person has told you whatever he wants to say. Just be careful from now on; I'm not sure whether the person was real or not."

"Hai, Urahara-san."

==x==

"Rangiku-chan, Hitsugaya-chan!"

Matsumoto and Hitsugaya both turned their heads towards the voice. "Sakura-taicho-chan! Where have you been? We've missed you!" Matsumoto pouted.

"I had… stuff to attend to. So… what are we doing now?" asked Sakura.

Yumichika answered her question. "We're finding places to spend the night."

"I'm going to Urahara-san's place. I've got something to ask him anyway." Renji said.

"Planning to be a freeloader again?" Ichigo teased. Renji just sent him a glare, before walking off.

"Hey Ikkaku, Yumichika, where are you going?" Matsumoto called out to the two 11th squad members.

"We're going to find somewhere to spend the night, what else?"Ikkaku replied, as the two of them strolled off out of view.

"Rangiku-san, where are you headed then?" Ichigo asked.

"Orihime's. That girl can't say no once you ask her for a favour," Matsumoto sighed. "Taicho, Sakura-taicho-chan, you coming?"

Sakura nodded. "Hitsugaya-chan, you coming?" she asked, as she started walking off. He nodded as well before following his lieutenant and fellow captain.

==x==

They were soon at Orihime's, and she had kindly let them stay at her place. As Matsumoto walked in, she said, "Taicho, Sakura-taicho-chan! You can come in if you want!" This was because the two of them were currently sitting on the rooftop of Orihime's house, staring at the sky.

"Yeah, we know." Hitsugaya answered, as the sound of the front door closing was heard.

Sakura however, was deep in thought.

"What did the guy mean by 'you'll be the bad guy'? Who was he anyway? He sounded so darn familiar… I just can't put my finger to it…" she contemplated.

Just then, a strong gust of cold wind blew past, sending chills down her spine.

Something bad was going to happen. She just knew it.

"Sakura? Sakura? Are you alright?" she heard Hitsugaya ask. She nodded in response.

"Since we arrived, you keep having blank looks. Are you really ok?" He asked once more.

Sakura bit her lip. "Yeah, I'm alright."

The next few minutes passed with them both looking at the night sky, and without anyone saying anything.

"Hey, Shiro-chan. May I ask you something?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"What if... just maybe... I turn into someone totally different, someone different from the way I am now?"

"How different?"

"You know... different. Like I turn bad or evil or something. Or what if I don't remember you anymore? What if-"

"I think it's safe to say that no matter who or what you become, I'll still love you all the same."

Sakura couldn't deny that that made her feel a little more at ease, but the feeling... that ominous feeling...

It just didn't go away completely.

==x==

Emm297: That was chapter 2 of OUMT, hope you liked it!

Really sorry for the long wait. But please be patient. I mean, I really am doing my best to put up the next chapter, but like I said. School just started and I need to get used to the new found pressure and stuff.

Please be patient!

Love, emm297.

See you in the next chapter!


	3. The Fight, Part One

Emm297: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait again, hope you don't hate me. I'll explain at the end of the chapter. I'm a bad authoress aren't I :(

I CHANGED THE NAME OF THE FIC! It was originally Once Upon a Full Moon, Now it's Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight!

Chapter 3 of Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight :)

Hope you like it :)

P.S: Have you seen the newest manga chapter of Bleach? It's totally AWESOME. Although Ichigo looks weird.

P.P.S: Me no own Bleach.

P.P.P.S: Some people might view some words in the chapter as mild swearing, but bear with it okay :)

P.P.P.P.S: The _Italics_ might refer to Sakura's thoughts. The **Bolded** words might refer to Kasumi's responses.

==x==

_"Hey, Shiro-chan. May I ask you something?" Sakura asked. _

_"Sure, what is it?"_

_"What if... just maybe... I turn into someone totally different, someone different from the way I am now?"_

_"How different?"_

_"You know... different. Like I turn bad or evil or something. Or what if I don't remember you anymore? What if-"_

_"I think it's safe to say that no matter who or what you become, I'll still love you all the same." _

_Sakura couldn't deny that that made her feel a little more at ease, but the feeling... that ominous feeling..._

_It just didn't go away completely._

Just then, a sudden surge of reiatsu could be felt from far away. Hitsugaya's head immediately snapped up and Sakura saw Matsumoto in her Shinigami form running out of the house.

"Matsumoto, they're here." Hitsugaya stated, as the 10th squad fukutaicho came rushing up onto the roof. "Where's Orihime?"

"I had her look after my gigai so she wouldn't try to join the fight."

"Hitsugaya-chan, by _they_, do you meanthe _Arrancar_?" Sakura asked, just to be sure.

Hitsugaya nodded briefly before switching into his Shinigami form.

"I'll get our gigai's into the house. You two go on ahead." Sakura said, as she switched out of her gigai. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto nodded before jumping into the air and shunpo-ing off into the sky. "Chappy, stay in the house and protect Orihime, okay?" she instructed her gigai. Her gigai gave a short nod and jumped down the roof of the house.

"You too," Sakura said to Hitsugaya's gigai. He too, jumped down the roof and disappeared through the door of Orihime's house. Turning to face the night sky once more, Sakura placed her hand on her Zanpakutou's hilt.

"_Kasumi, you ready?"_ she whispered.

**Of course, **came the reply. Sakura smiled.

And with that, the 9th division captain leaped up and shunpo-ed off to join her friends.

==x==

Hitsugaya was having a hard time with his opponent, Shawlong Qufang. Glancing over to where Matsumoto was supposed to be, he saw her sprawled on the ground, not moving a muscle.

"MATSUMOTO!" He yelled. No response. Yet, he could feel her reiatsu. It might not be as strong as before, but he got the feeling that she was relatively unhurt.

"Maybe she's faking," he thought to himself. "Let's hope she's working on getting our limiters removed."

"What are you looking at? Your friend there?" Shawlong Qufang asked. "You're opponent is me." He lunged forward, forcing Hitsugaya to quickly raise his sword in defence.

"_Koori_ _ga hatte imasu, _Kasumi!" Suddenly, a huge blue ice dragon rushed towards Shawlong, causing both of them to quickly step out of the way.

"Sakura!" Hitsugaya called out, recognizing the dragon spirit straight away. Shawlong, on the other hand, did not look pleased at all.

"Is that another of your friends? Doesn't she know that a battle should not be interrupted by a third party?"

"Oh shut up." Sakura had arrived right next to Hitsugaya, and her gaze was fixed on the Arrancar. "Hitsugaya-chan, Matsumoto is busy getting permission now." She whispered. "I know," he replied.

All of a sudden, there was another strong surge of reiatsu in the air. All 3 of them froze on the spot.

"Ah, looks like Grimmjow finally decided to take action." Shawlong remarked.

"That's an incredible reiatsu…" Sakura mumbled. Just then, another reiatsu could be sensed. It was relatively strong, yet it kept fluctuating. Whose reiatsu was that?

Suddenly, she remembered,

"Ichigo!" Sakura whispered, loud enough just for Hitsugaya to hear.

"Sakura, you go take care of Kurosaki. I'll handle this guy." Hitsugaya said, his eyes never leaving the opponent.

"But Hitsugaya-chan…"

"No buts. There's no telling how well he can handle another Arrancar attack, especially an Arrancar with a reiatsu as powerful as this," he said, turning slightly to face her. Seeing the worried expression on her face, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. Go take care of Kurosaki."

Sakura bit her lip, but nodded all the same. "Don't you dare die on me," she said, before shunpo-ing off into the dark.

"Now that your little girlfriend is gone, do you mind continuing the battle?" Shawlong asked.

Hitsugaya took his stance. "Of course not."

And the two of them charged at one another.

==x==

Sakura quickly shunpo-ed towards the source of the reiatsu. Turning into a street, she saw a blue haired Arrancar facing Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" she called out, rushing towards him. The Arrancar had sky blue hair, and the remains of his mask rested on his jaw.

"Sakura-taicho!" came a familiar voice. Turning to the side, Sakura saw Rukia standing there, with a pure white Zanpakutou in hand. _Sode no Shirayuki, was it?_

"Rukia! Glad to see you've got your Shinigami powers back." She gave the raven-haired Shinigami a smile. "Take Ichigo out of here. I'll deal with this guy."

It was then that the Arrancar decided to speak. "Oi, woman! Do you really think that a puny Shinigami can defeat me? By the looks of it, your reiatsu level is hardly one quarter of mine!"

"Don't underestimate me, Arrancar." Sakura growled, before saying, "Rukia! Hurry and get Ichigo and yourself out of here!"

She didn't turn to see the 13th squad member nod, but she could feel their spiritual pressure slightly ebbing. _Let's hope they go to a safe place, she thought. There's no one else to help them out if some powerful enemy comes along. _Facing the Arrancar once more, Sakura snapped, "Hey, Arrancar! Are we gonna fight or what?"

A look of annoyance flashed across the Arrancar's face."Don't keep calling me 'Arrancar'! I have a name! Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, and I'm the 6th Espada."

_6__th__ Espada? Boy, I better be careful._ "Ha! The 6th? What, Aizen didn't think we were good enough to handle the better ones?" she taunted.

"Arrogant already, are we? I like that in a woman. However, we'll see who the weaker one is after this." Grimmjow replied, before leaping up into the air.

"_Shiro Fubuki_!" Sakura yelled, moving her Zanpakutou in one giant horizontal sweep. A huge gust of wind blew, and Kasumi's dragon spirit moved swiftly towards Grimmjow, using the wind as a propeller to move faster. It opened its mouth and released a huge blast of snow at the 6th Espada. However, Grimmjow was faster than Sakura thought. At the last moment, he vanished into thin air.

Sakura's eyes widened for a second before she felt his reiatsu next to her. "Surprised? This is what we call Sonido." He said in a low voice before pointing a finger at Sakura. A red light started forming at his fingertip.

_Oh shoot, a cero! _Just when the cero was fired, Sakura shunpo-ed off behind Grimmjow. Now, it was his turn to look shocked. "Surprised? This is what **we** call Shunpo. It sounds a whole lot better, don't you think?" she mocked, before taking a swing with her sword at the Sexta Espada. Again, Grimmjow dodged.

"You think you're so good at this, don't you, little Shinigami?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Toushime Sakura, 9th squad captain. Don't call me 'little Shinigami', it sounds wrong." She commented dryly.

"Fine, Toushime Sakura it is. Doesn't change the fact that I'm gonna beat your ass." Grimmjow smirked, before springing forward. As he rushed towards Sakura, he charged a cero at his fingertips.

_Another one, _Sakura thought, shunpo-ing off into safety just as the red energy collided with the hard pavement. Suddenly, Grimmjow appeared behind her. He removed his Zanpakutou from his scabbard and tried to stab Sakura. She raised her own Zanpakutou, and the sound of two metals colliding could be heard.

Sakura pushed against her sword hard. Grimmjow had the advantage here; he had more muscle power than her. Compared to him, her strength level seemed like an ant. Sensing that she could not hold on much longer, Grimmjow pushed all the way, and Sakura was forced to lower her sword for a split second.

Yet, a split second was all it took for the sky-blue haired Arrancar to take a huge swing at the Shinigami, and Sakura was flung back instantly.

When she had regained balance, Sakura looked down at herself. Her Haori was slowly turning red, and she felt an immense pain at her chest. There was a tear-line where Grimmjow's sword had managed to cut through her Captain's robe, which was really starting to become a deep crimson red. She tried moving one step forward, but her chest hurt, and she was forced to stop and clutch her upper body tightly.

"Ha! Not so great are you?" Grimmjow laughed, looking at the pathetic state of the 9th division captain. "What's wrong? Can't handle a little bit of raw power? The 13 squads must really suck, to put you as a captain. Just like Aizen-sama says." Grimmjow snickered, placing his Zanpakutou back into his scabbard.

"This… battle's not over… till I say so!" Sakura cried out, lunging for Grimmjow one more time. "Shiro Fubuki!"

The same gust of cold wind blew, and Kasumi moved elegantly through the wind.

"That old tactic? Get a new act, would you?" Grimmjow remarked, easily jumping out of harm's way.

This time, Sakura smirked, flicking her sword in a upwards motion. The snow immediately stopped moving, and the wind stopped blowing. All of a sudden, the snow and wind changed its course and started blowing towards the Arrancar again.

Grimmjow caught sight of it at the last possible second. His sleeve at his left arm was a bit torn, and he had a few scratched and bruises on his arm, but otherwise, he was okay. "You'll pay for that," he shouted. A finger went up once more, and the same red energy started building up.

Sakura started to move out of the way, but there was a sudden surge in Grimmjow's reiatsu, immobilizing the 9th division captain. Plus, she was still in pain. _Great! Now what am I supposed to do? _She thought, attempting to move her hand a little. Her arm, surprisingly, moved. _Yes, I can move my arm!_ Sakura concentrated hard, before moving her arm in one swift fluid action.

"Cero!"

"Shiro Fubuki!" The two attacks collided with each other, though the cero managed to pierce through. Sakura did not have enough time to block, thus she was hit square on the chest with Grimmjow's cero.

Two things happened at once.

A huge cloud of dust formed in an explosion-shaped cloud.

And Sakura fell to the ground below and landed with a thud.

"Smart ass, aren't you? Using your move to soften the impact of my Cero." She heard Grimmjow mention.

_Rangiku-chan! Where's the permission to lift the limiter…_ she thought, before seeing a pair of feet land softly on the ground beside her.

==x==

Emm297: I'll do a double update now to make up for lost time! So go see the next chapter!

(I said I would explain, and I will! In the **next** chapter.)

Review this chapter too please! (but I understand if you don't cause you're mad at me…)

But **please, please please **review? :( It'll make me happy again to know that you guys aren't mad at me for not updating for so long :)

*Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement for this story, **plus **the prequel, **Once upon a Sakura Flower**. Thank you very very very much! :) *


	4. The Fight, Part Two

_Emm297: Chapter 4! Enjoy!_

_==x==  
_

Hitsugaya was still fighting his opponent. And he had already released his Bankai. However, he was only at 20% power, and the Arrancar clearly was stronger than him at that point.

"You mean this is it? A Captain-class Shinigami and this is all you can do?" Shawlong Qufang laughed. "Speaks volumes of Soul Society, doesn't it?"

Hitsugaya had a streak of blood at his side, staining his haori. All of a sudden, an enormous amount of reiatsu could be felt and almost immediately after, a huge cloud of smoke erupted from the other side of Karakura Town. Hitsugaya remembered the reiatsu as the one when Sakura first left, so he deduced that Sakura was probably winning, and the enemy had to release more reiatsu in order to keep up with her.

"It seems like Grimmjow is done with his opponent. That's your girlfriend, isn't it?"

"I think it's the other way around," Hitsugaya replied. "I bet your friend wasn't good enough an opponent."

"Is that what you think? Then how about you try feeling for her reiatsu now." Shawlong stated smugly.

And so he did. He felt Sakura's reiatsu. But what was this? Her reiatsu was indeed declining rapidly, to the point that it felt incredibly weaker than usual. Sakura was in deep trouble, and he knew it. Was the Arrancar that strong that even she could not take him down on her own? Or was it because she had been careless, complacent? _No_, he thought to himself. She wouldn't be complacent.

In any case, Sakura needed help. And if he couldn't get to her in time, the Arrancar might just finish her off.

_Matsumoto, I hope you're working on the limiters. _Hitsugaya took a quick glance around. If he could just make a dash for the opening at his adversary's side…

"Now now, Shinigami captain. I don't think you going away to help your friend would be a good idea." Shawlong said, seeming as though he had read Hitsugaya's mind. "We have a battle to finish, remember? Besides, if she was that weak, by the time you get there, she would probably have been finished off by Grimmjow. Let's continue, shall we?"

Shawlong smiled, and placed his Zanpakutou in front of him. "_Tate (snip)_, Tijereta!" Yellow reiatsu consumed him, and before he knew, it, Hitsugaya was bleeding profusely from the centre of his body.

"Damn it!" Hitsugaya cursed, looking up at Shawlong. The Arrancar had armour covering his arms and upper chest, and his hands transformed into long claws. His mask extended down to cover the left side of his face and his queue became a tail with claws as well.

Shawlong noticed Hitsugaya looking at him. "Like it? This is what happens when an Arrancar releases his Zanpakutou."

Hitsugaya once again lunged for his opponent, and the two crossed each other's path. Bits of ice dropped off Daiguren Hyorinmaru's wings during the process. Hitsugaya turned around to face his opponent, panting. He, no, _they _had underestimated the Arrancar. Hitsugaya wondered what would happen to him without the permission to lift his limiter.

"Taicho! Renji! Sakura-taicho!" the sound of Matsumoto's voice reached his ears, and he turned around reflexively. His subordinate was standing up, and it looked like she was unhurt.

"We've got permission to break the restriction!" She yelled, lifting the her opponent's foot off her. As she said it, a black daffodil-shaped symbol appeared on her left breast.

"It finally came?" Hitsugaya asked to no one in particular. He moved his Shinigami robe slightly, revealing another daffodil-shaped symbol on his left chest.

"What's this?" he heard Shawlong ask. Hitsugaya smirked, knowing that whatever disadvantage he had before was about to disappear.

==x==

"Sakura-taicho!" Matsumoto's voice crackled through the ear communicator Sakura was currently wearing. "We've got permission to break the restriction!"

Sakura's face instantly lit up, and she found herself filled with hope again. Now hope is a very important thing. Without it, you could probably give up and let the challenge overwhelm you. But with it, you will have enough faith and confidence in yourself that you **will** be able to finish the fight. This is what Sakura felt. It was like her body moved by itself – her legs made her get up, and Sakura shunpo-ed over to opposite Grimmjow.

Her Haori was now stained with maroon-ish dried blood, and her whole body had cuts and bruises. However, Sakura stood tall and strong, glaring at Grimmjow.

"You can suddenly move again? And just when I was about to deliver the final blow…" Grimmjow said, placing his Zanpakutou back into its sheathe.

"You're gonna need that thing," Sakura warned. "It won't be a good idea to put it back." She tugged her Shinigami robe a little to the side and revealed a black colour buttercup shape.

"Limit release!" Sakura shouted. The buttercup turned a bright white colour, and Sakura glowed with a bright blue energy. The force created by that energy was so strong that tiny bits of pavement flew towards Grimmjow. He looked a bit shocked and a huge tornado suddenly formed at his lower leg.

When it cleared, Grimmjow looked at his leg. It was frozen solid to the ground. "What's up with this?" He yelled, trying to get his foot unstuck.

"Limit, release. In order to avoid unnecessarily influencing spirits in the real world, captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13, have their reiatsu drastically decreased, by means of a seal unique to their squad, before they come here." As she said the last sentence, the now white symbol of the buttercup vanished.

"The total power sealed is 80% of our maximum. Which means, you were only fighting me when I was at 20% power." Sakura gave her Zanpakutou a short flick before pointing it at Grimmjow.

"That means," she said, as Kasumi charged towards Grimmjow at lightning speed. "I'm 5 times stronger now."

Grimmjow's eyes widened as he saw Kasumi headed straight for him. Hastily, he charged up a cero and fired it at the ice at his foot.

"Shiro Fubuki!" Sakura bellowed. Kasumi opened its mouth and a huge blizzard came out, stronger and colder than before. A huge dust cloud formed, but a small red light could still be seen through the smoke.

_He's smart, using his cero to destroy the ice. _Sakura thought, as she recalled Kasumi by flicking her sword in an upward motion. When the dust cleared, Sakura saw Grimmjow in the air, holding his Zanpakutou with both hands as blood dripped from his legs.

"Damn you, Toushime Sakura," he muttered. "Now you make me mad!"

Sakura took her battle stance and was about to open her mouth to say another command, when all of a sudden, a hand appeared out of nowhere on Grimmjow's Zanpakutou.

"That's enough." The voice of Kaname Tousen rang. Sakura looked up at her predecessor. Grimmjow merely stared at Tousen.

"You're coming back with me now. Aizen-sama is not pleased at all." Tousen pointed at the air and a Garganta appeared with a zipping noise. Tousen stepped inside, and Grimmjow sheathed his sword before following suit. Before the Garganta closed though, he turned around to smirked at Sakura. And with that, Grimmjow and Tousen were gone.

"They call him Aizen-sama now, don't they?" Sakura thought aloud. Turning to the sky, she quickly shunpo-ed towards Hitsugaya and Matsumoto.

==x==

"Rangiku-chan!" Sakura called out, as she landed softly on the ground next to her friend. "Is everyone alright?"

Matsumoto nodded. "Thankfully, the allowance came in time. Or else, we might all have died."

"Is Hitsugaya-chan alright?"

Matsumoto pointed towards the sky above. Hitsugaya's icy wings could be seen, and it looked as though he was panting.

Suddenly, his ice wings shattered, and Hitsugaya started to fall towards the roof of a building.

"Taicho!"

"Hitsugaya-chan!" The two of them shouted at the same time. Both of them rushed up towards the roof. Hitsugaya looked as though he had lost a lot of blood, and he didn't seem well at all.

"Orihime! Could you come help us?" Sakura yelled down the side of the roof, after recognising Orihime's reiatsu coming from below.

Orihime nodded, and quickly proceeded up to the roof.

"He's going to be okay," Matsumoto smiled. "Taicho's a strong guy."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Sakura nodded and gave a small smile to the 10th division lieutenant.

Matsumoto returned the smile and turned back to face Orihime. Just then, a "crash" sound was heard, as if something had dropped onto the floor.

Turning her head behind to ask Sakura what had caused the sound, Matsumoto froze.

Sakura was lying down unconscious, her wounds were opened, and blood was flowing out of them.

==x==

Emm297: EEEEP. I am horrid at writing battle scenes, aren't I? And I am horrible at writing bloody scenes. Argh.

So, to explain for my recent disappearance from the fanfiction world: I was caught up in school, had many extra activities, and in short, I was busy. I am terribly sorry, and I hope this double update can make up for the months of February and March!

Hope you guys still like me after what I did. SUPER SORRY!

Lotsa Love,  
Emm297.

P.S: If you forgive me, please review! Pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-the-top!


	5. In the Tunnel

Emm297: HEY HEY I'm quite happy :) you know why? Because despite the lack of reviews, quite a number of people added this to story alert! YAY! So let's carry on!

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach, or the characters. She only owns me and my Zanpakutou.

Emm297: Yup, that's right! On with chapter 5!

==x==

"_Is she going to wake up anytime soon? It's been four full days already!"_

"_Relax, Taicho! She'll wake up. Sometime."_

"_Toushiro, how could you get her in such a state anyway?"_

"_It's Hitsugaya-taicho to you! And it's your fault that she's like this! If you hadn't needed saving, she wouldn't have rushed off to save your butt now, would she?"_

"_Kurosaki-kun, I think you should pipe down a little. Sakura-chan needs to rest."_

"_Yes, Ichigo! Shut up!"_

"_Inoue, Rukia! Why are you blaming me? How come no one's blaming him?"_

"_Kurosaki, didn't you hear them? Shut up! Inoue-san, are you doing ok? It must take a lot out of you to keep your hands there like that."_

"_I'm ok, Ishida-kun. Thanks for asking."_

"_Dang, why isn't she waking up yet? I mean, I was the one who was bleeding profusely and look at me now! I'm fine aren't I?"_

"_Taicho, didn't you hear Orihime-chan the first time? She said that Sakura-taicho-chan suffered more internal bleeding than you."_

"_But still!"_

"_Look who's shouting now? How come no one's telling you to keep quiet?"_

"_Cause I'm a captain and you're just a substitute Shinigami!"_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Yeah! A substitute Shinigami who can't even defend himself from stupid Arrancar!"_

"_How about you? Falling out of the sky like that? Talk about weak. Pa-the-tic."_

"_You…."_

"_I what? More like you!"_

"_Will you two please keep quiet! Inoue-san needs to concentrate!"_

"_Thank you Ishida-kun. I think I'm done here though. It's up to Sakura-chan to do the rest."_

==x==

_Where am I?_

Sakura opened her eyes slowly, only to find herself surrounded by darkness. It was as if she hadn't opened her eyes at all. The air felt extremely cold, and she couldn't help but shiver a little.

_Am I dead? _

Gradually, she put one foot after the other and started walking forward. She felt worried and nervous with each step; what if a hole appeared in front and she fell into it?

Suddenly, a small bright light appeared far in front of her. Sakura would have missed it, if not for the fact that the light flickered and became brighter for a fraction of a second before dimming again. All thoughts about missing pieces of floor suddenly disappeared and Sakura dashed towards the light. The cold wind rushed past her and chilled her to the bone. But Sakura didn't care. She kept running and running and running.

However, the light seemed to never get nearer. It didn't seem as if she was getting closer to the light source. Sakura ran faster and faster, and the chilly wind got stronger and stronger, but the light seemed further than when she first saw it.

_Damn it, why am I getting further away from the light?_

As soon as she thought that, Sakura found herself moving closer to the light. After sprinting for a few seconds, Sakura found herself enveloped by bright white light.

It took exactly ten seconds for her eyes to adjust to the light, and when she could finally take a good look around, Sakura saw that there was nothing around her at all. She looked over her shoulder and there was no sign of the darkness that was there previously.

_Strange… where am I?_

"Hello, is anyone there?"

Her voice echoed on and on, until it became very faint and Sakura couldn't hear it anymore. She bit her lip and looked around once more.

Just as she was about to call out again, an immense amount of reiatsu could be felt from in front of her. She snapped her mouth shut, and watched as a huge amount of spirit particles started to form. They merged together, and a figure started to form.

"Hello, nice to meet you."

Sakura felt her lips part slightly. "You're… the guy I saw last time…"

The figure before her was dressed in a brown cloak, and nothing could be seen about the person in the cloak.

"Negative. I'm a different person. I was sent to deliver a message from the first person."

Sakura felt her hands instinctively reach up for her Zanpakutou. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The brown-cloaked figure shook his head. "Now now, no need to get so worked up. I'm not here to fight."

Sakura didn't let go of her Zanpakutou. "What's the message?" she snapped impatiently.

The figure took out a scroll-like piece of paper and cleared his throat. "You, Toushime Sakura, will experience a life-changing event in the near future." He looked up to see her reaction. The 9th division captain looked puzzled.

"What is this? Some sort of fortune-telling session? You've got to be kidding me."

The figure laughed. "Fortune-telling? No, those aren't accurate at all. I would prefer to call it 'Prophecy'." It makes more sense." The figure tucked the scroll under his arm and stepped back. "I'm done here, so I'll be going." A huge gust of wind blew and slowly lifted the stranger up into the air.

"Hey wait! What stupid prophecy is that?" she called out, struggling to keep her eyes free from dust. "Wait!"

"Just remember! Life-changing event!" The figure called.

As soon as the cloaked stranger disappeared, Sakura noticed a bright red door forming on the right.

"_This is such a strange dream… Let's hope that door is the way out." _she thought to herself.

Shrugging, she walked towards the door and opened it wide. Bright white light enveloped her once more and Sakura took a deep breath before stepping into it.

But if she had stayed back for a little while longer, she would have noticed a single strand of pink hair floating down towards the ground.

==x==

"_Hey hey, I think she's stirring!" _

"_Sakura-chan, are you okay?"_

"_Sakura, can you hear me?"_

"_Sakura-taicho-chan!"_

"_Sakura! Sakura, are you awake?"_

Sakura could recognize the voices of her friends, who undoubtedly were standing above her.

"Ugh…" she groaned, as she slowly opened her eyes. The brightness of the room took a few seconds to get used to, but she eventually managed to get her eyes to open fully.

She tried to sit up, propping herself up with her elbows. Immediately, two hands grabbed her arms from both sides and helped to pull her into a sitting position.

"Kurosaki, let go of her."

"You let go of her. She saved me, it's only natural I help her." The voices of Hitsugaya Toushiro and Kurosaki Ichigo could be heard.

Sakura smiled wearily. "It's ok. How long have I been out?"

"Four days." Ishida said. That's when Sakura finally took a look around her. Ichigo and Hitsugaya were on her left and right respectively. Orihime, Matsumoto, Rukia and Ishida were knelt down in front of her futon.

"4 days huh?" Sakura mumbled. It didn't feel like four days at all.

"Ikkaku, Yumichika and Renji said they would drop by later." Matsumoto said. "They're getting something for Urahara-san."

"Speaking of him, he told us to inform him if you woke up. I'll go get him." Orihime got up and walked out of the room.

"I'll follow her in case Urahara needs something else to be done. Kuchiki-san, do you want to follow?" Ishida asked. Sakura swore she saw him wink at the raven-haired girl though.

"Huh? Oh… Oh! Yeah, sure, I'll come along." Rukia replied. "Sakura-taicho, I'll come back later!" She, too, stood up and followed after Ishida. Just before she left the room, Rukia turned to face the group. "Matsumoto-fukutaicho, would you like to come along?"

Matsumoto looked up. "Huh? No, thanks, I'm sure Sakura-taicho-chan would like the comp-" She never got to finish her sentence, because Rukia had grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

"But…. But…" Matsumoto whined.

"Come on, we'll need to help Urahara-san!" Rukia said, before closing the door.

"Well, looks like it's just you two and me…" Sakura said, looking up at her two friends. Ichigo nodded slightly and started tapping his foot on the ground. Hitsugaya looked like he was contemplating something.

All of a sudden, Hitsugaya stood up. "Well, I'm going too. I bet Urahara needs help."

Sakura cocked her head to one side."But he has Orihime, Rukia, Ishida and Rangiku-chan to help him already! Can't you stay?"

"I'll come by later again." He walked across the room and placed a hand on the door. "Besides, I think Kurosaki has something to say to you."

And with that, he was gone as well.

"Ichigo, you have something to say to me?" Sakura asked.

"Erm… yeah." Ichigo tried to find the right words to say. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"That day. If I wasn't that weak, you wouldn't have to come save me from that Arrancar. And you wouldn't have ended up in this state." At this point, he found the floor very interesting and started looking at his feet. Just then, he heard Sakura giggle.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo questioned. He had just apologized, and there she was, laughing?

"Ichigo… how many times do I have to tell you? It's nothing! We're friends, aren't we? That's what friends do. So don't feel bad, alright? Besides, it's my job to protect people from threats, isn't it?" She finished.

Ichigo smiled. "Yeah. But... thanks."

"You're welcome. I would've done it for anyone. And I'm sure you would have done the same for me too. Right?"

"Of course." Ichigo took a deep breath. "Well, now that that's settled… tell me something."

Sakura smiled. "What?"

"How the heck did you get pummeled by a stupid Arrancar? I thought you were tougher than that. Or was he too strong for little Sakura to handle?" he laughed.

"Oh shut up." She replied, and punched him lightly in the arm and chuckled.

_All was well._

_Except for the fact that some 'life-changing event' was about to happen. __What it was though, she didn't know._

_And she also didn't know, that whatever the 'life-changing event' was…_

_It was about to happen very soon. Sooner than she expected._

==x==

Emm297: Chapter 5 :) YAY! I didn't take 2 months to upload it! Yay me!

Hope you review, pretty please!

Now I am going to thank everyone who has added (as story alert/fav story) so far :D

In no particular order…

Arin-chan, Kuro-Neiko-Keiko-Hime, KurokamiHaruhi, Lost Beloved, Mina Luriya, NotSupposedToBeHere, SapphireJKH, ShatteredKunai, ShioriOokami, Silver-Resistance-Rocks, Strawberry White Tiger, akiharu-chan, angeloflight0777, arisa0, hitsugayaXOX, kongsi222, AnImEwIlLRuLe, Beast's Harlot, Skye The Golden Dragon, shea76747 and toushiroismine18.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far:

In no order…

Silver-Resistance-Rocks, Jennifer, Arin-chan, J, SapphireJKH, akiharu-chan, toushiroismine18, Laughing Bandit D Royale and KurokamiHaruhi.

Smiles go to KurokiamiHaruhi for reviewing all chapters, even though I'd already posted till chapter 4 :D

Yay, see you in chapter 6! It's gonna get interesting real soon! I promise :D

Emm297.


	6. Our Past

Emm297: Hello again :D Welcome to chapter 6! Let's begin! –Looks around- Anyone see Sakura?

Sakura: Here! Emm-chan does not own Bleach nor its characters. She owns everything else that you don't recognize from the anime/manga though.

Emm297: -nods head- Okay, chapter 6! Just a little note, we're going to be experiencing some major flashback-ing from Sakura in this chapter! It will explore more of Sakura's past with Hitsugaya, so we're going to get to see more HitsugayaSakura-ness! Hehe.

ENJOY!

==x==

_Let's backtrack to four days ago, right after the sudden surprise attack by the Arrancar. _

"Grimmjow, I'm afraid I can't forgive you if you attack Kaname."

Grimmjow grit his teeth in annoyance, but sheathed his Zanpakutou anyway, albeit reluctantly. His arm just got conveniently chopped off and incinerated by Tousen, and the 6th Espada was more than pissed. If he could, he would rip off the stupid commanding officer's head and dump him outside of Las Noches.

But he couldn't. So Grimmjow reasoned that he should just walk off.

He was halfway to the door when he heard Aizen. "Wait a moment, Grimmjow."

The blue-haired Arrancar rolled his eyes before turning his upper torso around. "What?"

"You fought with a Shinigami captain called Toushime Sakura, didn't you?"

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I did, so what?"

"Was she strong?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "I don't know," he said, before strolling off.

Aizen smirked and looked to his left. "You know what to do." He said to the corner pillar. A brown-cloaked person stepped out from the shadows, and nodded his head before vanishing.

Aizen turned back to face Tousen.

"Looks like everything's falling into place now…"

==x==

_Now, we're going back to our current timeline. Or rather, our current timeline which is 4 days after Sakura had woken up._

Ichigo, Sado and Ishida were all busy training elsewhere. Sado was at the Urahara shop, whereas Ishida's and Ichigo's whereabouts were unknown. _The aftermath of the Arrancar battle must have triggered something in them_, Sakura thought.

Plus, they had just found out Aizen's grand scheme. To make the King's Key and take control of the throne as the king of Soul Society. And to do that, he needed to use 100,000 souls.

And guess where these 100,000 souls currently were?

That's right, in Karakura Town.

Needless to say, Hitsugaya and Sakura were given instructions by Yamamoto to prepare for any other Arrancar attack, as there would be no knowing when they would strike again. However, based on calculations by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Aizen would probably try to invade Karakura in the winter.

But everyone was still being extra careful, just in case Aizen sent one of his soldiers to check on the state of Karakura Town.

Well, even though everyone was currently in a state of chaos, Sakura still found herself sitting on the top of Orihime's roof, admiring the clear blue sky. And that made her think back on the time when she first was invited to Hitsugaya's house back in District 1.

==x==

_Flashback_

_"Hey Granny, this is Toushime Sakura. I told her she could stay over for awhile." Hitsugaya said upon entering the door._

_Sakura followed closely behind. She didn't really feel comfortable intruding on these nice people, but then again, she really had no place to stay. _

_"Oh... alright. But I hope Toushime-san won't mind squeezing a little," said Hitsugaya's granny. "Our place isn't that spacious."_

_"No, no it's okay. And you can just call me Sakura. I hope I'm not intruding..."_

_"No, of course not. I'm happy Shiro got himself a friend."_

_"SHIRO-CHAN!"_

_Sakura turned to face her right and saw a black-haired girl run towards Hitsugaya. _

_"Don't call me that!" Hitsugaya snapped. The girl just ruffled his white hair and smiled._

_"I'll call you by your name when you come to the Shinigami Academy too!" The girl turned around to face Sakura. "I heard we have a visitor, who's she?"_

_"Toushime Sakura. Sorry if I'm disturbing anyone..." Sakura said sheepishly._

_The girl shook her head. "No, in fact, I'm glad Shiro-chan has a friend to keep him company while I'm gone!" Extending her hand towards Sakura, the girl introduced herself. "I'm Hinamori Momo."_

_Sakura smiled and shook her hand._

_"You can call her Bed-wetter Momo too, if you want." Hitsugaya said. "That's her real name anyway. Hinamori is just a fanciful cute name she created."_

_"Shiro-chan!" Hinamori semi-scolded. "You're just jealous 'cause I get to go to the Academy!" she teased._

_"Who wants to go to that stupid school of yours?" Hitsugaya retorted. This just earned him another ruffle of the hair by Hinamori._

_Sakura laughed to herself, along with Granny. This was going to be one awesome stay._

_When Hinamori had left, Sakura spent the rest of the days together with Hitsugaya. They played outside, helped Granny with the cooking and such, or sat on the rooftop admiring the sky. Sakura couldn't remember when she had felt __**this **__happy and carefree._

_When Hitsugaya was in trouble, Sakura would stick up for him. Most of the time, this was caused by some boy commenting on Hitsugaya's hair colour. Sakura didn't get why everyone made such a big fuss about it though. In her eyes, his hair was what made him unique._

_When Hinamori dropped by, she always brought watermelon. And she would tell Sakura stories about her life in the Academy. How her classes were, what she did, who she met, and much more. This made Sakura really want to experience what a day in the Academy felt like._

_However, there was one period of time where Hinamori didn't come back for over 3 months, which was longer than usual. Hitsugaya would always sit outside, looking at the road Hinamori would usually come by. Sakura could tell, that despite the name-calling and Hitsugaya's cold attitude towards Hinamori, he really did in fact care a lot about her. _

_When Hinamori finally visited, Hitsugaya was the first to yell and inform everyone about her arrival. But when Hinamori stepped into the house, her pretended not to care. At this, Sakura couldn't help by giggle. It was so childish of him. So, when she was alone with Hinamori, she told her, "He was the first to tell everyone you know." Hinamori laughed and nodded. _

_When it was time for Hinamori to tell Sakura about her 3 months in the Academy, Sakura noticed a visible change in the girl. She wouldn't stop rattling about some 'Aizen' dude, and whenever she mentioned his name, her eyes would start sparkling. And when Sakura tried to make Hinamori talk about something else, she would get impatient and tell her, "Wait, I'm not done yet!"_

_It was apparent that whoever this 'Aizen' guy was, he had made a __**huge **__impact on Hinamori's life._

_Hitsugaya, too, noticed this. Hinamori had also told him about 'Aizen' and what an awesome person he was. It had started to annoy Hitsugaya greatly, as Hinamori had stopped asking about what had happened in District 1 during her absence, which was what she normally did._

_Sakura still remembered the conversation she and Hitsugaya had the evening that Hinamori went back to the Academy. _

_"Hey, Sakura. Do you think Hinamori's different? She doesn't seem to be interested in us anymore."_

_"I guess she's just very excited about being a Shinigami, that's all."_

_"I wonder who Aizen is. I would like to challenge him to something. See if he really is that amazing."_

_"How about a watermelon-eating contest? You'd beat him for sure!" Sakura joked._

_"Haha, very funny." Hitsugaya said sarcastically. "But I wouldn't mind that, if it would make Hinamori less obsessed about the guy."_

_Sakura went silent for a moment. Hitsugaya really cared for Hinamori, and she was really sure Hinamori cared for Hitsugaya as well. Sakura knew she would never be able to replace Hinamori, and she also knew that Hitsugaya would never stop caring for her either. This made Sakura a little jealous, as the only time where she had a real true friend, said friend had another best friend. _

_And if this was the case, Sakura knew she had better leave soon before she started becoming too attached to Hitsugaya._

_It was raining. No, 'raining' would be an understatement. It was pouring like there was no tomorrow. The skies were absolutely dark, but no one would be able to see the difference since it was almost midnight. Raindrops fell heavily on the streets, and it looked as if the roads were about to be flooded._

_Sakura took one quick look at the house before putting up a cloth over her head, and started to walk away from the house. She only managed 20 or so steps before a voice stopped her._

_"Oi, where do you think you're going?"_

_Sakura turned around. The whole alley she was in was dark, but she could see a very distinct feature of the stranger. White hair._

_"Hitsugaya-kun! I was going... going to the rooftop! You know, to see the sky?" Sakura lied._

_"Yeah right, and I'm the queen of Rukongai. Seriously. Where are you going?" Hitsugaya asked._

_"No!" She struggled to come up with something. "My old friend invited me back to the District to stay for awhile," she fibbed._

_"Sakura. I've known you for more than 10 months. You can't hide anything from me. Are you running away?" He questioned._

_Sakura let out a grunt. Why did he have to be so smart? "I'm not running away! That's not even my house, so I can't be running away. I'm more like leaving for another place, you know?"_

_Hitsugaya walked towards her. She backed up a little, but Hitsugaya's strides were a little bigger than hers, so he caught up to her eventually._

_"Why?" The question was so simple, yet Sakura didn't know what to answer._

_"I...I... Because..." she stuttered, trying to find the right words. "Well... Because..."_

_Sakura didn't get to finish her answer, because right at that moment, Hitsugaya had grabbed her arm and led her out of the alley. _

_"Hitsugaya-kun! What are you doing?" Sakura protested, trying to release his grip on her. Instead, Hitsugaya shoved his umbrella at her, at the expense of himself getting soaked. _

_"Take it and shelter yourself."_

_Sakura shook her head and used the umbrella to cover both of them. However, since the umbrella wasn't exactly the biggest one around, both of them still got wet. He didn't look bothered though, and Sakura noticed a small frown on his face._

_She remained silent for the rest of the journey back to his house._

_The next morning, Hitsugaya didn't even mention Sakura's little escapade to Granny. Everything seemed normal, as if the previous night's events didn't happen at all. _

_"Hey Sakura, pass the plate here please." Hitsugaya said, pointing to the plate on the small wooden table. _

_"Oh... Okay..." she said, before picking up the white plate and handing it over to Hitsugaya, who was outside washing the plates. _

_Just as she turned around to go back into the house, Hitsugaya said, "You know, you're always welcomed here." She faced him, but saw that he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was still washing the plates._

_"I know, I just... didn't want to get too used to life here. I'm going to have to leave someday."_

_"Who said anything about you leaving? You're a part of this house now, don't you forget that."_

_At this, Sakura felt a tear forming in her eye. Hastily wiping it away, she smiled. "Arigato, Hitsugaya-kun."_

_"Anytime."_

_End of flashback_

==x==

Sakura smiled to herself. It seemed like just yesterday when they had had that conversation. She tilted her head once more towards the vast blue sky and took in a deep breath of fresh air. She closed her eyes, reminiscing about the times when she did not have the responsibilities of a Gotei 13 captain on her shoulders.

Her peace however, was disturbed by someone.

"Sakura-chan! Yoo-hoo!" Sakura opened her eyes and looked down. There stood Urahara, and he was fanning himself.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you would do this old man a favour." Urahara asked, while smiling.

Sakura jumped down from the rooftop and landed next to the shop-keeper. "Sure, what is it?"

"Help me train Sado-kun for awhile while Abarai-kun goes off, please?" The request was so harmless that Sakura figured that she would do it.

"Why not? Let me just go off and tell Hitsugaya-taicho about this so he'll know where I am." Sakura took her Soul Phone out and punched a few keys into it.

"Okay, I'm done. Let's go."

==x==

Emm297: Well, this is a long chapter! About 2000 words! Hope you enjoyed the little flashback there :) I know some people wanted more Hitsugaya and Sakura interaction time when she woke up, so I made up for that with the flashback :) Hope you liked it!

Thanks go to Laughing Bandit D Royale, akiharu-chan, KurokamiHaruhi, FireWingedWolf, Mina Luriya, IkuXYori, anime0angel, marimbagirl1993, ShadowDemon1586 for reviewing or putting this on story alert/favourite story!

See you in chapter 7!

P.S: I _**might **_not update for awhile because of my mid-year examinations, so please be patient! But if I'm in the mood for writing (which I'm sure I will be, how irresponsible of me) and I don't feel like studying, I will try to update this! YAY :D But if I don't, please understand! My mid-years end on 8th May btw :)

P.P.S: Any guesses to who the brown-cloaked figure is? I know my friend is trying to guess, but I'm not gonna tell her :D Any guesses though?

See you soon!


	7. Hitsugaya, Karin, Soccer and Sakura

Emm297: Well, I didn't get a lot of response for the previous chapter; is it because everyone hates flashbacks? Sigh.

Sakura: Emm-chan, don't feel down!

Emm297: How can I not? Anyway, let's continue with the chapter then.

Sakura: Hai! Emm-chan does not own Bleach, it's characters and everything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns the other stuff you don't recognize though.

Emm297: On with chapter 7 :) This chapter is more of a filler than anything, but it has some HitsugayaSakura inside. It's pretty long, to make up for my absence while I was busy with exams.

==x==

Hitsugaya was minding his own business. By 'minding his own business', I mean he was walking along the street with his Soul Phone. He had just gotten a message from Sakura saying that she was going to be in Urahara's shop training Sado, Ichigo's friend.

And thus, the white haired captain had nothing to do except stroll around the town.

Just as he was about to cross a street, he noticed a soccer ball bouncing onto the pavement from the grass patch above.

Hitsugaya used his leg to stop the rolling ball and kicked it so that it flew right into his hands. Turning his head around, he noticed a girl standing there looking at the ball. She had short black hair and had dark brown or black eyes.

"This yours?" Hitsugaya asked.

The girl nodded. "Yeah…"

"That was dangerous. Be more careful." He dropped the ball and in one smooth kick, the ball landed in the girl's hands.

By the time the girl looked up again, Hitsugaya was gone.

==x==

It was evening, and Hitsugaya was leaning on a silver railing, with his Soul Phone in hand. He was scrolling through the latest Hollow attacks in town. During the afternoon, he had killed 2 hollows, and from what Matsumoto had reported, the others had killed another 3. He wondered what could possibly make 5 hollows appear in Karakura Town in the short span of 6 hours.

Just then, he noticed a presence beside him and looked up. It was the girl from this afternoon.

"You picked up my ball, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," he replied, before diverting his attention back to his Soul Phone. He noticed that the girl didn't go away like normal people would. Couldn't she see he was busy?

Instead, the girl spoke again. "Hey, what school are you from?"

At this, Hitsugaya got annoyed. "I don't go to any school! I'm busy! Go away."

"You can play soccer, right?"

"Who knows?" Hitsugaya answered. This girl sure was persistent.

"We're having a game soon. Will you play on our team?"

At this, four boys rushed up to the girl. Hitsugaya didn't pay close attention to their conversation, but it seemed as though they were talking about asking him to play on their team. The only part he actually caught was one of the boys saying something that went like this, "Besides, how can a midget like that be good at soccer?"

Hitsugaya's head immediately turned. "Who the heck is a super-midget?" He snapped.

The girl turned back to face him. "We didn't go that far…"

But Hitsugaya had had enough. He closed his Soul Phone and started to walk off, despite the girl telling him to stop.

But, after he had walked around 11 steps, he felt the wind behind him increase speed, as if something was flying towards him. And Hitsugaya, being, well, Hitsugaya, instinctively jumped up, did a mid-air somersault and aimed a kick at the approaching soccer ball.

He did not know where the ball landed, nor did he care. However, as he brushed off some dirt on his pants, all the boys gathered around him.

"Awesome!"

"That rocked!"

"Cool!"

"Where are you from?"

"What's your name?"

Hitsugaya was a little stunned by the sudden… 'hospitality'. Weren't these guys against having a 'midget' on their team a while ago?

In any case, Hitsugaya told them his name.

"Toushiro eh? That's a cool name!"

"Did you bleach your hair, Toushiro?"

"Your hairstyle is so awesome, Toushiro!"

"You're the only one we can depend on, Toushiro!"

Hitsugaya was a bit taken aback by the compliments. "No, I told you I'm…"

Before he could finish his sentence, his Soul Phone began to beep. Hitsugaya took it out from his pocket and flipped it open. A red dot was flashing on the screen, indicating a Hollow.

Looking up, he noticed that the girl was looking to her left, as though there was something there. And he could have sworn he heard her say, "That feeling again…"

But he did not have time to think about the girl's words. The red dot kept blinking and Hitsugaya figured he was the only one near it.

Wasting no more time, he closed the gadget and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Toushiro, where are you going?" One boy called.

"Something came up," Hitsugaya yelled back. "Sorry, I can't help out!"

He then turned the corner and couldn't hear them anymore.

==x==

_Urahara's shop, next evening._

"Koori ga hatte imasu, Kasumi!" Sakura yelled. A blue crystal dragon instantly emerged from the tip of her Zanpakutou and charged at the man in front of her.

The guy dodged, but not quick enough. Kasumi managed to graze his left elbow and in the process, rendering the elbow numb with coldness.

"Come on, Sado-kun! You gotta move a lot faster than that!" Sakura shouted, swinging her Zanpakutou once more. Kasumi once again rushed towards the man.

"Fuyu no hanabi!" Sakura shouted. This was a move she hardly used, and it was reserved only for special times. The reason being it was the only move Sakura could not control as well as the other moves. But she hoped that, if Sado could manage to block this move of hers, she could safely say he had made some improvement since they had begun training the day before.

A huge white blade of light formed from the blade of her Zanpakutou and Sakura swung her sword to the right in a huge wave motion. The blade of light paused in mid-air before flying towards Sado.

For a moment, Sado was shocked. He had never seen Sakura use a move like that, not once in his entire life. But he managed to get over the shock and aimed his own jet of blue light at her attack. Upon contact, the two jets of light exploded, forming a huge dust cloud in the air.

Sakura coughed, and used her left hand to fan the smoke away from her eyes. When the smoke had cleared though, she saw that the whole rocky arena was covered in ice. From the rocky walls to the ceiling to the floor, everything was encased in hard, solid ice.

"Shoot," she mumbled. She had never meant for the whole area to turn into a skating ring. Looking straight, she saw that Sado was standing there, panting. He looked tired, but other than that, nothing seemed to be seriously wrong. The only injuries he had sustained from that attack were a few minor cuts, but nothing serious.

"Well then!" Sakura said cheerfully. "It looks like you've made an improvement after all." She sheathed her Zanpakutou and the blue dragon spirit next to her disappeared with a shimmer.

"So we're done?" Sado asked, wiping a drop of blood from beside his mouth. He had to admit that the last move Sakura pulled was strong, but luckily, he had been able to handle it by blasting his own move against hers, thereby splitting the light and sending it in different directions. If he didn't manage to do that, he would probably be the one frozen solid, and not the entire basement.

"Yup, we're done here. Let's go see if Urahara-san has anything that we can use to get rid of all this ice. Although I'm sure he wouldn't mind an in-house skating rink," Sakura said with a smile.

Sado nodded and the both of them walked towards the basement exit.

==x==

"Taicho!"

Hitsugaya cringed slightly at the voice. He looked to his left, and sure enough, Matsumoto was there. She waved hello and gave him a smile, even though she was wondering why the heck her captain was sitting on a roof overlooking the children's playground.

Then, she noticed he was looking at a group of kids playing soccer.

"Have you become a stalker?" Matsumoto asked.

"You're wrong. There's just something I'm worried about." Hitsugaya replied, before turning back to look at the black-haired girl. Just like she said, Hitsugaya found her and her friends practicing soccer at the park.

Matsumoto followed Hitsugaya's gaze and saw that he was staring at a girl.

"Taicho! You like a girl from the real world? What about Sakura-taicho-chan?" Matsumoto exclaimed.

"I told you, that's not it!"

"It's all right! I won't tell Sakura-taicho-chan. It's best if you two work it out on your own. However, I _am_ slightly disappointed in you Taicho! Sakura-taicho-chan's going to be so angry with you, not to mention hurt."

"That's enough," Hitsugaya said before standing up and walking down the roof from the other side.

"Taicho, please wait! Are you going to break up with Sakura-taicho-chan? 'Cause I'll need to be there to comfort the poor girl!" Matsumoto asked, before turning around and following her captain.

==x==

Sakura was busy in Urahara's basement. The eccentric shop-owner had given her and Sado a lighter each after insisting that he didn't have any other tools to get rid of the ice.

"Pfth, a lighter?" Sakura thought aloud. "Couldn't he get something better?" She flicked it on and started going back and forth on a piece of iced rock.

Sado wasn't having a great time either. His lighter was running out of fuel and it took him at least 3 tries to get it started.

"Sakura-san! Abarai-kun's back from Soul Society!" Sakura looked up. Urahara was standing there, pointing at a very confused looking Renji.

"What happened here? Did Hitsugaya-taicho get mad or something?" Renji asked.

"Ah, Renji! Just the person I needed to see!" Sakura exclaimed, walking towards the 6th division lieutenant. She motioned for him to open his palm and when he did, she placed the lighter in it.

"There you go! Get to work okay!" Sakura said happily. "Oh and make sure Sado gets some rest too; he's been working at it with me since last evening."

And with that, the 9th division captain skipped out of the basement.

"What's up with the ice, anyway?" Renji asked. "And why do _I _have to get rid of it?"

"You better get started, Abarai-kun!" Urahara said cheerfully. "There's much to do!"

==x==

Sakura breathed in the fresh air. Ever since Urahara had asked her to help him out, she had been stuck in that stuffy basement, only going up to have her meals. Fresh air never felt so good.

Just then, she noticed a very familiar aura.

Without wasting a moment, Sakura sprinted towards the reiatsu and found herself at the town's soccer field. And there, like she hoped, was Hitsugaya. Only this time, instead of using his Soul Phone like he always did, he was…

_Playing soccer?_

Sakura frowned. Hitsugaya was playing soccer? No, that didn't seem right. She turned her attention to the other people. There were a couple of tall guys in blue and yellow shirts, and there were shorter guys who didn't bother wearing a uniform shirt. Then, Sakura spotted a very familiar looking black-haired girl.

"Karin?" Sakura looked closely once more. Yes, it really was Kurosaki Karin!

Sakura continued to watch the game. "I wonder what Hitsugaya-chan is doing…"

Hitsugaya had the ball, and he was racing towards the goal. Karin caught up with him and said something to him. He passed the ball to her and replied something. She looked a bit shocked, but nevertheless, she gave him a confident smile and with one huge powerful well-aimed kick, the ball went soaring right into the goal.

"Beep Beep Beep!" The whistle blew, signaling the end of the game. Sakura watched as Karin turned around to talk to Hitsugaya, who by the way, looked as cool as ever.

She saw them exchange words and Hitsugaya's expression turned serious. He hadn't noticed her yet; perhaps it was because she was hiding her reiatsu. Sakura considered going up to them and saying hello, but decided against it. She would let Karin and Hitsugaya finish whatever business they had with each other first.

Just as she turned around to walk back to Orihime's house, her Soul Phone began to beep. Sakura spun around sharply. There was a huge black crack in the sky and a zipping sound could be heard. She looked at her Soul Phone. The red dot had four yellow triangles pointing at it.

"Menos? Here?" Without wasting any more time, she switched out of her gigai.

The green and purple Menos leaped out and landed with a thud on the ground, sending Karin's friends flying a few metres away.

The Menos growled at full volume. Karin looked as if she could see the Menos as well, which surprised Sakura. Did that mean when she was staying over at the Kurosaki's, Karin had felt Sakura's reiatsu? When she looked at the Menos again, she saw that it was scratching his face, as though something had hit him. The Menos searched for something and his gaze fell on Karin. It raised its arm above its head and let out a small roar.

"Damn," Sakura cursed, knowing very well what the Menos was about to do.

In an instant, she had shunpo-ed towards Karin with her Zanpakutou unsheathed, and using it to block the Menos's arm from making contact with the girl.

"Sa… Sakura-chan!" Karin whispered. "What are you doing here?" She said a little more loudly.

"Sakura!" Sakura heard Hitsugaya call out to her. She ignored both of them however and focused her attention to the Menos.

"Koori ga hatte imasu, Kasumi!" Sakura shouted. She heard Hitsugaya release his Zanpakutou as well. In one fluid action, she sliced off the Menos's arm with her katana.

"Karin, you okay?" Asked Sakura. The girl uttered a small "yes" and Sakura faced the Menos once more. But the Menos was instead facing Hitsugaya.

"Shiro-chan! Cero!" Sakura yelled out to him. Hitsugaya diverted his gaze from Sakura and glanced up. At once, he leaped into the air and sliced the Menos in half with Hyorinmaru. The Menos became encased in ice and shattered into a million pieces.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked the approaching Hitsugaya.

He nodded. "I'm fine."

Karin suddenly got up to her feet and stood in front of both captains. "Toushiro, Sakura-chan, you're both Shinigami aren't you? So do _you _know where Ichi-nii is?"

Hitsugaya was confused. He didn't even know her name, so how could he know her family? Yet, when he looked at Sakura, he noticed she was thinking of something, as though _she _knew where the girl's big brother was.

"I'm sorry, I don't. But I'm sure he's out there somewhere, training to become stronger. Ichigo's that type of person, who doesn't give up till the very end. Kind of like you, Karin." Sakura said with a weak smile.

"Ichigo? As in Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked surprised.

"Yeah, this is Kurosaki Karin. I stayed over at the Kurosaki's last time, remember?" Sakura said. "Karin, I'm sure there's no need to worry. Ichigo's just training to become more powerful so he can protect you better."

"Yeah, he's your brother after all." Hitsugaya said, catching on.

Karin smiled and wiped a tear off her eye. "That's right," she said, flashing both of them with a smile.

==x==

_Meanwhile, at the fortress called Las Noches_

"Have you delivered the message?" Aizen spoke.

"Yes sir. She knows," the hooded figure replied. "She knows."

"That's good to hear. You're dismissed," Aizen said. "Oh, inform our dear ex-6th Espada about what he's supposed to do please."

The hooded figure gave a curt nod before walking out of the room.

==x==

Emm297: I'm sorry that was so long! But it's mostly because I was away for such a long period of time, I thought I should make up for it :)

Anyway, I wonder what the ex-6th Espada (Grimmjow) has to do with whatever Aizen is planning :)

Reviews are really appreciated! I hope I can get a little more reviews than last chapter -cross fingers-

Thanks go to: **KurokamiHaruhi**, **ShadowMoon2430**, **HoneyHoney**, **HitsugayaDream**, **Sexy-Midnight-Fox** for reviewing/story alert-ing/author alert-ing!

See you in the next chapter!

P.S: Anyone here like Man as much as I do? I just started watching it and I am hooked! I'm thinking of doing a Man fic :D Though I'm still not sure about that. But if I _do _make one, it'll probably be AllenXLenalee and LaviXOC :) Cause I can't get enough of OCs :) and because Allen and Lenalee are so cute together and it's obvious they like each other.

P.P.S: Fuyu no hanabi = Winter Fireworks. And I really didn't know that it was a real title of a GinRan song until I searched it. Honest. But I think it's super cool.


	8. The Fortress

Emm297: Well, here's chapter 8! Sorry I took so long to update, I've been incredibly busy with school!

Sakura: Chapter 8, everyone! Emm-chan does not own Bleach, it's characters and everything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns the other stuff you don't recognize though.

Emm297: Yup, so let's get on with chapter 8!

==x==

_The fortress of Las Noches_

"Basically that's all you have to do."

"WHAT? YOU WANT ME TO DO _THAT_?"

Szayel Apporo Grantz pushed his spectacles further up his nose bridge. "Aizen-sama specifically requested that _you_ do it."

"WHY ME? HAVEN'T I MADE IT CLEAR THAT I AM ENEMIES WITH THAT WOMAN? I'M NOT EXACTLY FRIENDS WITH HER, YOU KNOW!"

The 8th Espada sighed. "Look, Aizen-sama wants you to do it. I'm just here to deliver the message from him."

"HECK HIM! HE CAN DO IT HIMSELF BECAUSE I AM NOT DOING IT! NO WAY IN HELL!"

"Grimmjow," Szayel said. "It's an order. Something _you_ have to follow. You know why? Because you got demoted. DE-MO-TED. Which means you are no longer of any higher rank than me. DEMOTED."

The blue-haired Arrancar stood up from his seat abruptly. "So what if I got demoted, huh? That doesn't mean _you_ of all people can push me around."

"I can't. But Aizen-sama sure can. Would you like me to go tell him about your refusal?"

Grimmjow opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he sat back down on his seat.

"Well then, at least tell me why I have to do it. Look at Ulquiorra! All he does every single damn day is walk around this stupid place, making sure that no one commits any wrongdoing. Can't you ask _him_ to do it? He's the biggest loser of us all anyway!" Grimmjow questioned, annoyance clearly shown through the tone of his voice.

Szayel rolled his eyes. "Aizen-sama wants _you_ to do it. How many times must I repeat myself? Do you think he shares everything with me?"

"Of course! You're the one he asked to do that stupid invention anyway!" Grimmjow shouted in exasperation.

"Oh yeah, we sit around and drink afternoon tea and talk about world domination together. Charming of you to think that way. Besides, if he didn't ask me, who else could he ask? _YOU?"_

"Well then, you can't expect _ME_ to follow _YOUR _orders! I mean, since when did I have any slightest respect for _you?"_ asked Grimmjow. He was getting very irritated by the 8th Espada.

"FOR THE LAST TIME! AIZEN-SAMA WANTS YOU TO DO IT!" Szayel yelled. "NOW YOU WILL DO IT OR I WILL TELL AIZEN-SAMA THAT YOU DIRECTLY REFUSE HIS ORDER!" the Espada paused. "Then perhaps he will make your whole body disintegrate into nothing, instead of just your arm."

The room went awkwardly silent. Grimmjow punched the wall in frustration. He most certainly did not want to die (after all, he hadn't fought with Kurosaki Ichigo yet), but at the same time, he most certainly did not want to have to babysit that idiot girl.

"Well? I am a very busy man, Grimmjow. Unlike you, I am of use to this place."

A very maddened and highly displeased Grimmjow looked the Espada in the eye.

"Fine. I'll do it. But if she annoys me, I'll cut her into two."

The bespectacled man smirked. "You can do whatever you want to her. Just don't kill her. Aizen-sama has something planned for that."

Grimmjow sighed in defeat and placed his head in his hands. "Whatever. Just tell me when I'm supposed to go."

"We strike tomorrow at sundown."

==x==

The 8th Espada strode into the room. "Aizen-sama, everything has been taken care of."

"Well done," replied the man on the throne. "How are the preparations coming along?"

"Everything is ready for tomorrow. You won't be disappointed."

Aizen chuckled. "I never doubted you, Szayel. You can go now." The 8th Espada gave a curt nod before walking out of the room.

Two figures walked out from behind the pillar. "You sure are sneaky, aren't you?" one asked.

"I prefer the term 'devious', Gin. Besides, it's not the first time I am doing this. You of all people should understand that." Aizen said. He turned to the second figure. "Kaname, whatever you want to say, just speak. We've known each other for so long anyway."

The blind man nodded. "Aizen-sama, do you really think that _he_ should be put in charge of _her_?"

"Ah, my dear Kaname. I assure you, Grimmjow will not misbehave during his mission. After all, he values his life far more than we could fathom. Besides, this will be a good way for him to become more… responsible."

"But to entrust him with such an important task…"

"Relax, Kaname. Don't you trust my judgement?"

"Hai, Aizen-sama. Sorry for asking." Tousen apologized, bending over slightly to bow.

"Aizen-sama, are you sure you want to carry this out? I don't see the point of making _her_ do this." Gin asked.

Aizen smiled. "She's strong. And I figured I could play around with some of her connections while I was at it. Besides, there will be many people who will miss her. And who will come rescue her, which will lower Soul Society's defenses. That's the point. And I'm quite interested in her power. Szayel himself has said that she possess a very different aura from other people."

"Ah, I see. That's still sneaky, though." Gin voiced out.

"Devious, Gin. Devious."

==x==

"What do you want," Grimmjow asked, obviously uninterested. Seriously. He had better things to do than stand around talking to the 'grand ruler of Las Noches'. Even staring at Stark sleep would be better than this.

Aizen merely grinned. "I believe Szayel has informed you of your new mission?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "Yes, so what of it?"

"I just want to make sure you're okay with the plan."

At this, Grimmjow laughed. "HA! So if I say I'm not okay with it, you're going to switch me with Ulquiorra ?"

"I guess not. Besides, he has things to do as well. So I take it that you're fine with the plan?"

Grimmjow frowned. "Of course not! But I don't have a choice, do I?"

Aizen shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Grimmjow. Nevertheless, I would like to stress to you the importance of looking after our… guest… while she is staying with us."

"Look after her how? Feed her with a silver spoon for every meal?" the Arrancar scoffed.

"Show her the ropes. Ensure that no one takes advantage of her being new. I'm sure you can handle that."

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "Of course I can. I'm not _that _incompetent."

"Good. You're dismissed," Aizen instructed. Grimmjow placed his hands in his pockets before he walked off.

"Stupid Shinigami, who does he think he is anyway?" he muttered, before turning the corner.

Back in the throne room, Aizen placed his hands on the arm rest.

"This will be interesting," he said.

==x==

_Next day, Karakura Town_

"Hey, Shiro-chan. Are we returning anytime soon?" Sakura asked her fellow captain, who was walking beside her, busily keying in his report on his Soul Phone. Hitsugaya looked up from his device. It took him awhile to understand that she was talking about returning to Soul Society.

"I'm due back tonight. The Sou-taicho wants to see me. Probably won't take more than half an hour though." Hitsugaya went back to his Soul Phone. "But I don't think you need to go back with me, so you can stay here."

"Alright then, what time are you going?"

Hitsugaya didn't look up this time. "Just after sundown."

"So soon?" Sundown would be in about one hour.

"It's just for awhile, Sakura." Hitsugaya closed his Soul Phone and looked at her. "Why? Miss me already?"

Sakura laughed. "You wish."

They continued walking towards Orihime's house. They had just had a meeting with everyone at Ichigo's place. Ikkaku, Yumichika and Renji had left together while Matsumoto, Sakura and Hitsugaya went the opposite direction. Matsumoto herself had excused herself mid-way and went to a convenience store. No doubt to buy some sake.

"I'm going to be very bored when you're not around," said Sakura.

"It's just for half an hour. Besides, I'm sure something exciting will happen. Then you won't be bored." Hitsugaya replied with a smile.

"Hmmm, something exciting? I wouldn't mind that. Then time would fly by and you would have finished your discussion with Sou-taicho."

However, they didn't know that something exciting was _indeed_ going to happen. Something _really_ exciting was going to happen.

==x==

Emm297: So here's chapter 8! I'm going for camp tomorrow, so I figured I better put this up :D

I hope my story hasn't bored anyone yet! The next chapter should get better. Loads better, I hope. :D

Thanks to **KurokamiHaruhi, ****XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX, Ran69, Lovia7, IkuXYori, Orangesz, Hikari1796** for reviewing, author alert-ing, story alert-ing and favourite story-ing!

See you in chapter 9!

P.S: Anyone watched the Hannah Montana Movie? I thought it was awesome :D Lucas Till is so cute :D

P.P.S: If you watch D Gray Man, be sure to check out my one-shot for AllenLena :D


	9. And So It Begins

Emm297: I shall now bring you Chapter 9! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach, its characters and everything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns the other stuff you don't recognize though. Enjoy chapter 9!

Emm297: Let's get on with the chapter!

==x==

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I'm done." Hitsugaya said, switching out of his gigai. It was sundown and the 10th squad captain had to go back to Soul Society for a meeting with the sou-taicho.

Sakura nodded. They were in Urahara's basement, and the shop-keeper had helped him set up a gate to Soul Society.

"Don't go running off somewhere while I'm gone; you just recovered." Hitsugaya smiled and stepped into the gate. "I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later too."

And with that, the gate was closed.

Sakura sighed and walked out of Urahara's basement. She thanked the shop-keeper for his help and left the store.

She continued walking in the direction of Orihime's house. If there was nothing to do, Sakura figured that it would be a good time to take a short nap. After all, there would be no telling when the next Arrancar attack would be.

She soon arrived at Orihime's and opened the door with the spare key she had. "Orihime? You here?" she called out. No response.

"She's probably out getting groceries or something," Sakura thought. Sure enough, on the table was a little pink note from the orange-haired girl saying that she went out to the supermarket to get ingredients for dinner.

Sakura placed the note back on the table and went into the guest room, which she shared with Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. Her mattress lay neatly on the floor, just beside a potted plant. The window was wide open and the evening rays of the sun streamed through.

"It's a nice time to take a nap," Sakura thought out loud. She stretched and lay down onto her futon, careful not to disturb the bandage that was around her stomach.

Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy and Sakura couldn't help but close them.

==x==

_Meanwhile, in Las Noches_

"Hey, stupid panda, you need to go now." Szayel Apporo Grantz said, knocking on the door of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques room.

The door flew open immediately and revealed an angry looking Arrancar. "What did you call me?"

"Stupid panda. Now hurry up and get your ass out or do I have to kick it outside for you?" The 8th Espada ordered.

"I have to go now? So soon? I'm enjoying my moment of solitude, before that woman comes to bug me. Can't it last a little longer?" Grimmjow complained.

"No, it can't. You have to go now, so I have ample time to set up my genius contraption. Hurry up, stupid panda, Aizen-sama is waiting!" said the Espada as he turned and walked back down the hallway.

"Damn it," Grimmjow cursed. He walked back into his room and moments later he emerged, with his sword in hand.

"I still don't see why I have to do this," he thought, as he closed his door.

"Grimmjow," came another voice. The blue-haired Arrancar spun round and saw the 4th Espada, Ulquoirra Schiffer looking at him.

"Yes, Ulquoirra? If you can't see, I'm busy."

Ulquoirra simply placed his hands in his pockets and turned around to walk back down the corridor. "Please remember to inform her that she can say goodbye to one person."

"Yeah, yeah, I will." Grimmjow said, before he walked off in the opposite direction.

==x==

_Back in Karakura Town_

Sakura had just fallen asleep for a couple of minutes and was currently in a very amusing dream where Hisagi and Ikkaku were growing a garden of lollipops and biscuits together. Matsumoto was helping to water the plants with sake and Yamamoto was helping to bring out the sunlight. It was an extremely weird dream.

"Oi, woman!"

Sakura vaguely heard someone in the back of her mind.

"OI, WOMAN! WAKE UP!" This time, it was more prominent.

"Stupid idiot, must I do everything for her?" she heard the voice say. Then she felt herself being lifted off her mattress and slammed against the wall, which woke her up immediately.

When Sakura opened her eyes, she saw that the person holding her against the wall was none other than the Arrancar she had fought earlier – Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

"What the hell?" Sakura asked. "Let go!"

Grimmjow gritted his teeth. "No way in hell am I going to do that," he said. "Now listen up. You're going to have to come with me to Las Noches."

Sakura tried to pry his hands away from her arms. "Why should I? And how the heck did you come into this place without me noticing?"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "I'm not here to negotiate, woman. My job is to bring you back to Aizen-sama." He paused briefly before continuing. "I hid my reiatsu and came in through your stupid window. How else could I have done it?"

"Let go of me, you dumbass." Sakura cursed, struggling against the Arrancar's strong grip. "What if I don't want to go with you?"

"I would crush you right now, but Aizen-sama wants you alive. I'm only saying this once, woman." Grimmjow's grip tightened at this point. "You have to come with me, whether you like it or not. Or, you could always sit back, relax and watch all your little friends die in front of you."

Sakura stopped struggling for a moment. "What do you mean by die?"

Grimmjow cursed. "Damn it, you're a huge inconvenience you know. Do you think that your pathetic friends stand a chance against us Espada? Have you even seen all of them in action? I'm telling you, your little Shinigami friends would die in a heartbeat. So, if you don't come along with me, Aizen-sama will just have to send the Espada out to get you. And at that point of time, I don't think your little friends will survive the attack. Do you want your friends to die?"

The ex-Espada paused and waited for the Shinigami to respond. "Oi, woman, say something."

"Do I have to go now?" Sakura asked. Her voice was cold, hard and serious, and not at all like the usual bubbly voice she used.

"Not exactly. You have one hour to say goodbye to someone. But during this one hour, you're going to have to wear a bracelet that will make you invisible and will completely hide your reiatsu." Grimmjow let go of Sakura and took out a silver bracelet from his pocket. "Hurry up and take it."

Sakura obediently took it from his palm and placed it around her wrist.

"In one hour, I'm going to come back here and then we'll go off."

"What if I don't need one hour? What if I don't even need half an hour?" Sakura asked.

"Fine, I'm giving you fifteen minutes. In fifteen minutes, I'm going to come back here." Grimmjow jumped onto the window ledge. "Treasure your time, little Shinigami." And with another leap, he disappeared, leaving Sakura in the room alone.

'**Why did you agree to his terms?**_' _Kasumi asked.

'_Well, I couldn't say no, couldn't I? He was threatening everyone! My friends, my comrades and my home!_' Sakura replied.

'**So what? Your alternative is giving yourself up to the enemy to get killed?**'

'_No, but if I go there, it'll be better than letting the whole of Soul Society get annihilated, right?'_

'**No, if Soul Society gets attacked, you can always help out there! Why give yourself in to Aizen?** **That's exactly what he wants you to do!**' Kasumi argued.

'_But if I give myself up now, there might still be some hope for Soul Society! The Espada won't attack so soon and they will have more time to prepare for the final war!' _said Sakura exasperatedly. '_Are you in with me or not?'_

'**It's not like I have a choice. But don't tell me I didn't warn you.**' Kasumi's voice slowly faded until Sakura couldn't hear her anymore.

Sakura sighed. It looked as though she really didn't have a choice but to follow Grimmjow. If she could allow them more time to prepare for the final war against Aizen, she figured it would be best to do exactly what the Arrancar told her to do. But what he didn't know was that Sakura had already made out his plan. By giving her time to say goodbye, it would seem as though Sakura went there willingly, and she would thus be labeled as a traitor in Soul Society. Her purpose was not to become a fugitive; rather it was to save her home from certain doom.

Besides, the whole 'saying goodbye' thing sounded a bit Aizen-like, and Sakura knew better than to fall for one of his tricks.

She contemplated writing a note to Hitsugaya to say that she had been sent somewhere else, but she thought it wouldn't be such a good idea to do so.

She took a look around the room and noticed her bag was lying in the corner. She picked it up and overturned it. Immediately, her locket fell out of a corner pocket.

Sakura gently lifted it up from the ground and held it in her palm. "It always has to be like this, doesn't it?" she thought. When she was sent to Karakura Town for the first time, she had to leave without saying anything as well.

Suddenly, a knock resounded throughout the room. Hastily, Sakura pocketed the locket and went over to the window. She pushed it open to reveal a bored looking Grimmjow standing there. He jumped into the room and landed on the floor on his two feet.

"Oi, are you ready to go yet? We don't have all day." He growled.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Stupid Grimmjow," she mumbled.

Just then, the sound of a key turning in a lock could be heard throughout Orihime's house. Sakura was about to turn to look at the direction of the door when she felt Grimmjow grab her by the arm and drag her towards the window.

"Hey, can you please stop grabbing my arm like that?" Sakura asked. Grimmjow didn't pay attention to her and Sakura felt her hair get caught between the branches of the potted plant. Despite this, Grimmjow still did not stop and Sakura's ribbon came off her ponytail and landed in the soil.

"Oi, my ribbon! Can I please get it back?" she asked.

"No way in hell. We're going now, and that's final. Or do you want your friend to find out that I'm here? 'Because if she does, I'm going to have to kill her." Grimmjow replied. "Now let's go."

He jumped out the window with Sakura in tow and headed for the skies. With a flick of his finger, a Garganta opened and the two of them went inside.

==x==

Emm297: Well, chapter 9 everyone. I don't think it turned out exactly very awesomely :( But I kind of like it.

Please review! :D It makes me happy :)

Thanks to **Vampyre101, IkuXYori, KurokamiHaruhi, LeopardStar, rinoasinger, miyuki11** for reviewing/fav story-ing :)

See you in chapter 10! :D


	10. Within Their Walls

Emm297: Hello everyone! I'm here with Chapter 10! Hope you enjoyed chapter 9 as much as I did writing it! Well, so here is where it gets better, so please continue supporting this story! A million thanks!

Sakura: Let's carry on! Emm-chan does not own Bleach, its characters and everything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns the other stuff you don't recognize though.

Emm297: Chapter 10 everyone!

(P.S: Sorry for the late update, I was busy with exams!)

==x==

Sakura couldn't really remember the road Grimmjow took to get to Las Noches itself, but it seemed to her as if he took an extremely short time to get to the fortress' gate. Her brown hair was now really messy because it was blown about by the wind. But that was fairly ironic because the air in Hueco Mundo seemed very still and dead. The wind was probably caused by Grimmjow moving so fast through the desert.

As soon as the pair entered Las Noches, Sakura slid off Grimmjow's back and stood beside the Arrancar. He didn't say anything, but motioned for her to follow him. She did, and pretty soon, Sakura found herself looking at a huge stone door.

"This is your room from now on. Don't stray anywhere else. If you do, Aizen-sama will have my bloody ass for breakfast." Grimmjow warned.

"I'd like to see that," Sakura thought to her herself. She opened the door slowly and walked inside.

There was a small desk and a chair at the corner of the room. The bed actually looked comfortable; it was a four-poster bed and it was red and gold in colour. There was a small window at the upper half of one of the walls, but it had metal bars as grilles. Other than those, however, the room was completely empty.

"Aizen-sama will talk to you later so don't stray off, " Grimmjow said, before he slammed the door shut.

Sakura sighed and reached for her Zanpakutou. Removing it from her back, she placed it on the bed gently. She walked over to the desk and chair and ran her hand over the wood. It was smooth, and reminded her of the desk over at the 10th division.

She sat down on the chair slowly and was surprised at how soft the seat was.

"I feel like some sort of VIP in this place," she thought. Sakura turned her body to face the window. The single crescent moon of Hueco Mundo could be seen clearly through the metal grilles. The moon was a deep contrast to the dark midnight sky and Sakura felt lonely for the moon.

Sakura paused to ponder for a moment. "No wonder Hollows are so empty. Even their home is completely... empty."

Suddenly, a knock resounded throughout the room. Sakura's head promptly turned to the door just as the door opened.

"Sakura-sama, Aizen-sama is requesting your presence in the throne room." Sakura saw that an Arrancar was the one who had opened the door. She couldn't see the Arrancar's face properly, but she assumed it was a girl, from the way that _it_ spoke.

She nodded towards the Arrancar and picked up her Zanpakutou before walking out of the room.

==x==

Once they reached the supposed 'throne room', the Arrancar motioned for Sakura to stay put. The Arrancar then turned towards the door and opened it slightly and quietly stepped into the room, leaving Sakura outside.

As soon as she entered, the Arrancar said, "Aizen-sama, Sakura-sama has arrived and is waiting outside the room."

Aizen didn't look up, but told her to bring the brown-haired Shinigami into the room. Within a few seconds, Toushime Sakura stood before him, with her Zanpakutou slung over her shoulders.

"Toushime Sakura, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Las Noches." Aizen said.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't feel very welcomed at all, Aizen. After all, you had Grimmjow, of all people, go over to Karakura Town, grab me, and pull me off into the sky. The next thing i know, I'm in this stupid place."

"I apologize on Grimmjow's behalf," said Aizen, as he ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway, I won't beat about the bush. You're here, because I have a special assignment for you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Special assignment? Whatever you're planning, I'm not going to be a part of it."

"I beg to differ, Sakura-san. You're going to have to listen to instructions, or I'm afraid I'm going to have to force you to listen to me."

Sakura shook her head vehemently. "No way in _hell_ am I going to be a part of your stupid plan."

Aizen made a 'tut-tut' sound and flashed her his signature smirk. "Oh, but I'm afraid you don't have a choice, my dear Shinigami friend."

Just as he finished his sentence, the door to the throne room was thrown wide open and in came a pink-haired Arrancar. He was quite skinny, and he had on a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. He was wheeling a small metal trolley, and on it was this weird looking contraption that looked like a cross between a helmet and an electric socket.

"I would like you to meet Szayel Apporo Grantz, our researcher here in Las Noches." Sakura scanned the Arrancar even more thoroughly. He didn't look like much of a threat, but experience told Sakura that appearances were not to be trusted. Didn't Aizen look like a harmless, innocent Shinigami captain not too long ago?

Szayel gave a small bow to Aizen before wheeling his trolley to the front of the room. Aizen stood up and walked towards the trolley. He fixed his eyes on the contraption for a few seconds before turning to face Sakura, who instinctively took a few steps back.

Aizen's next smile sent a chill down her spine. "Don't worry, Sakura-san. We're not going to hurt you." To Szayel, he said, "Get Gin and Kaname to come here as well, will you?" Szayel bowed and went out of the throne room.

"Exactly _what_ is that _thing_?" Sakura asked.

"That _thing_, is my next stepping stone to becoming the king of Soul Society."

"King? Your aim is to become king? Is that what you're trying to pull off?" Sakura said in utter disbelief. "You know, it's not going to work."

"On the contrary, I have already pulled it off." With that, Aizen pointed his finger at Sakura.

There was a great white flash and Sakura knew no more.

==x==

Emm297: OMGosh, I'm so sorry for the late update! My exams just finished, you see. Really sorry!

Hope you enjoyed chapter 10! It's really where the whole plot is, so I hope you continue to support this story of mine!

Thanks to all who reviewed, story-alert-ed, favourite-story-ed (I'm sorry, I can't find your names anywhere, my email is a bit weird today)! THANKS A MILLION! :)

See you in Chapter 11! Cheerio!


	11. It Starts Now

Emm297: And here's chapter 11! :)

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach, its characters or anything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns anything else you don't recognize though.

Emm297: Right! Okay, let's carry on!

==x==

_Argh... I've got a splitting headache... _

_Where am I? Oh right... Las Noches...Wait. What am I doing here? _

_The last thing I remember is a flash of light. Kasumi, do you know what happened?_

_Kasumi? Kasumi, you there? _

_Kasumi? Kasumi? Kasumi! _

_**KASUMI!**_

Sakura awoke with a start and the force jerked her upwards. She would have found herself in a sitting position, if not for the fact that there were buckles strapped onto her hands. A bright light was shining from above and Sakura couldn't help but squint.

"Hey, what gives?" she thought, while trying to wiggle her way out of the straps. Her struggling, however, was unnecessary, as she found it quite impossible to get out of the leather straps.

She lifted her second finger and pointed it at the light that was hanging above her. "Let's hope this works," she thought out loud. She was hoping that by aiming a kidou spell at the light, it would be reflected back onto the strap and it would break. It was a big risk, but she knew she would have to take it.

She was just about to fire her spell when suddenly, a force slammed her hand back onto the metal table she was strapped on.

"Who's there?" Sakura yelled. With a shimmer, Aizen materialized at the side of the table.

"Now, now... Don't tell me you thought that you could escape from here?" he asked. "Weren't you the one who came to Las Noches willingly?"

Sakura turned her head away so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I didn't come here willingly. I came here because you were threatening to annihilate Soul Society."

Aizen chuckled. "To me, you came here willingly." There was a moment of silence, which was unnerving yet strangely calming at the same time. Sakura turned her head back to the other side and noticed that Aizen had already walked out of the room.

She considered trying to escape again, but a nagging feeling in her mind told her not to. Even if she tried a billion times, the result would still be the same. Aizen would always be one step ahead. It seemed a bit cowardly of her to just admit defeat, but it _was_ her fault anyway for trying to act the hero.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have come here."

Footsteps approached and Sakura had to squint to see who was arriving. It was the pink-haired Arrancar, Szayel Apporo Grantz. In his hand was the weird contraption she had seen earlier. Behind him, Aizen, Gin and Tousen strode into the room.

"Sakura-san, don't move please." Szayel instructed.

Sakura ignored him. "Oi, Aizen! What the heck are you going to do to me?"

Aizen walked over to the side of the metal table. "Hmmm, I think you have a right to know, don't you?" He grinned. "This, my dear, is a converter."

"Converter? What, you couldn't think of a more creative name?" mocked Sakura.

Aizen pretended not to hear her. "Szayel, make her sit up." Immediately, the Arrancar pushed a button on the side of the table and Sakura found herself being raised up, allowing her to be in a sitting position.

"Okay, so what now?" she asked.

"Do you know how Arrancar are created?"

The question caught Sakura by surprise. She racked her brains for a minute before remembering something that Hitsugaya had told her not too long ago.

"Hollows are given Shinigami powers, aren't they?" she replied.

"Do you know that Shinigami can also go through a process called hollowfication?" Aizen questioned. The astonished look on Sakura's face said everything.

"Wait... we... we can?"

Aizen merely nodded. "Yes, Shinigami can be given Hollow powers. Now, have you heard of a Shinigami turning into an Arrancar?

Sakura furrowed her brows. "Wouldn't that mean that the Shinigami would have to die, turn into a hollow, and then given Shinigami powers again?"

"Technically, yes. Yet, it can be done without killing the Shinigami in question." Aizen paused before continuing. "Think about it. Wouldn't an Arrancar be much more powerful if it didn't lose its Shinigami powers in the first place?"

"And you can do that... how?"

Aizen pointed his index finger at the contraption that was in Szayel 's hands. "Using that, my dear."

In a split second, the contraption had been placed on Sakura's head and the buckles that held her down her tighter than ever. She tried to remove the buckles by trying to lift up her hands, but it didn't work.

"Aizen! What did I ever do to you?" Sakura yelled, trying to shake off the helmet from her head.

"You didn't do anything," he replied. "I just need someone, you were conveniently in Karakura Town, and Grimmjow said that you were strong.

"Besides, if I kidnap you, Hitsugaya-kun would probably run here to rescue you. That's killing two captains with one stone."

Sakura stiffened. She didn't think about that. By coming here, she was actually endangering Hitsugaya's life as well. How could she have been so stupid as to fall for Aizen's trap?

"So are you going to try out this… _thing_ on me? What are you going to do to me after that?" she yelled.

"Well, I think that you will make an excellent Pseudo-Arrancar, don't you think so too?" To Szayel, he said, "Let's begin the process."

He turned back towards Sakura and whispered, "Goodnight, Sakura-san."

There was a great blue flash and a piercing scream echoed throughout Las Noches.

==x==

_Meanwhile, back in Karakura Town_

"Orihime-chan! I'm back!" Matsumoto called out, shutting the front door.

"Rangiku-san, I'm in the kitchen!" Orihime answered. Matsumoto walked towards the kitchen and saw Orihime bent over the stove, stirring a pot of orange liquid.

"What're you cooking?" asked the Shinigami. Orihime looked up and smiled at her.

"It's coffee, leek and red bean curry! I'm almost done with it," she said. She lifted up the pot and turned off the stove. "Rangiku-san, can you open the cupboard by the table and take a red bottle out for me?"

Matsumoto obliged and took out the red bottle. "What's in it?"

Orihime wrapped the base of the pot with a pink cloth and placed the pot on the table. She unscrewed the cap and showed Matsumoto the contents. "It's mayonnaise!"

Matsumoto made a 'o' shape with her mouth. "Is it for the curry?"

Orihime nodded excitedly. She used a spoon and dumped a spoonful of mayonnaise into the bubbling orange curry and stirred vigourously.

"It's done! Would you like a bowl, Rangiku-san?" Orihime offered.

"Yes please!" exclaimed Matsumoto. Orihime grinned and went over to the sink to retrieve a silver bowl and poured a bowl of curry for her. Matsumoto thanked her and the two went to sit by the sofa.

"Hey, Orihime-chan?" Matsumoto said. "Have you seen Sakura-taicho-chan?"

Orihime shook her head. "I thought I heard someone in the room when I entered the house, but when I checked, no one was there."

Matsumoto pouted. "She's probably at Urahara-san's shop." She took a mouthful of curry and beamed. "This is really good!"

Orihime laughed. "You think so? We can finish the whole pot together and have some ice-cream later!"

Matsumoto nodded excitedly and the two of them quickly finished their food.

==x==

_Two hours later, still in the Inoue residence_

"Matsumoto!"

Matsumoto, who was on the floor eating ice-cream from the carton, looked up. "TAICHO! YOU'RE BACK!" she squealed.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow after looking at what his subordinate was eating. "What the heck is that?"

"Oh, it's green tea ice-cream with whipped cream, celery, chocolate syrup, red bean, carrots, peach and milk tea!"

Hitsugaya frowned at the weird combination. "Where's Orihime?"

"In the kitchen cutting more peaches. Want some?"

Hitsugaya shook his head vehemently. "Have you seen Sakura?"

This time, Matsumoto shook her head. "I haven't seen her since I got back two hours ago. Isn't she with you?"

"No, she's not at the shop either. I checked." Hitsugaya bit his lip. "Where could she have gone? She's still got a wound."

"Sakura-taicho-chan's a big girl, taicho. She can take care of herself. The Sou-taicho probably sent her on a mission at the last minute and she didn't have time to tell us."

"Oh right, he does do that sometimes," Hitsugaya agreed.

"She'll be fine, taicho." Matsumoto reassured.

"I hope so."

==x==

Emm297: Sorry for the wait! But here's chapter 11 :)

Hope you guys liked it!

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed/pm-ed/story alert-ed/favourite-d, ILY!** (my email is hanging again, can't access the names, I'll get it fixed asap, sorry!)

So, hold on tight and see you in chapter 12!


	12. The New One

Emm297: I'm back! Sorry for the late update, just finished with finals :D So, guess what? I'm thinking of updating in about two weeks, instead of a month, so watch out for it!

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach, its characters or anything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns anything else you don't recognize though.

Emm297: What she said.

==x==

Hitsugaya was getting worried.

It had been 3 days, and Sakura had not returned, nor had she contacted him. When he voiced his worries to his vice-captain, she assured him that Sakura was on a mission, and that she did not have time to get in touch with them.

However, there was a weird feeling in his heart that told him that something was wrong.

He picked up his Soul Phone and dialled her number.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring._

No answer.

Again.

That would have had to be the 24th time he had called her. And still, no one picked up. This only intensified the feeling that something was amiss. He couldn't put his finger to it, but somehow, he felt that there was something strange about the situation.

Nonetheless, he was convinced by Matsumoto that Sakura was a big girl and could take care of herself should anything happen.

He got up from Orihime's couch and paced up and down the living room. He paused for a moment when he was facing the window on the Southern wall. It was a little over sundown, which meant that this would probably the time when Sakura went out.

"Damn it," he cursed. With a flick of the wrist, his Soul phone opened up and he hurriedly keyed in Sakura's number.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring._

For the 25th time, nobody answered.

==x==

"Taicho, is Sakura-taicho-chan back yet?" Matsumoto asked, closing the main door behind her. She had just come back from slaying a hollow that was detected over by the beach.

Hitsugaya shook his head. "It's been 3 days and she hasn't contacted us, what if something happened?"

"Weren't you with the Sou-taicho the whole time? Shouldn't you have seen Sakura-taicho-chan?"

"No, I wasn't. He told me to hand a report in to the 12th division, and after that I dropped by the 9th because Kurotsuchi-fukutaicho said something about Hisagi wanting to pass a message to Sakura."

"So you may have missed her?"

"I think so."

Matsumoto cocked her head to her left. "Well then, did you try contacting the Sou-taicho?"

"The stupid connection won't work for some reason," Hitsugaya paused. "Now that I think about it, Kurotsuchi himself did say something about the connection not working for the next few days…" he trailed off, making a note to ask the 12th squad captain exactly why he chose this crucial time to experiment with the connections to the real world.

Matsumoto plopped down on the chair opposite her captain. "See, she's probably out, and can't contact us. But I'll ask Nanao about the connection anyway. She might be able to find out when it will be back up."

Hitsugaya looked up at his vice-captain. "Thank you, Matsumoto."

"No problem. She's my friend too, you know."

==x==

_Las Noches, Hueco Mundo_

"Aizen-sama, you wanted to see me?"

Aizen straightened up from his throne. "Ah, Grimmjow, I see you've come."

'Well isn't that obvious?' Grimmjow thought. Clearing his throat, he said out loud, "I didn't have a choice, now did I?"

"No, you didn't. Anyway, I called you here because I have a… special mission for you."

Grimmjow raised his eyebrows. "What mission?"

Aizen smirked. "I'm leaving you in charge of the new… addition to our little ensemble. The one that arrived today."

Grimmjow's eyebrows went up even higher. "You don't mean… shit… wait, are you're freaking serious?"

"I don't joke, Grimmjow."

That was all it took for Grimmjow to blow up. "YOU SERIOUSLY THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA? YOU REALLY WANT ME TO BABYSIT SOME IDIOT ARRANCAR THAT JUST GOT HERE? WHAT… I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO!"

All of a sudden, the Arrancar felt the cool feeling of a sword up against his neck.

"Apologize to Aizen-sama right now," growled Tousen.

Aizen chuckled. "It's alright, Kaname. Grimmjow was just voicing out a little displeasure. But I'm sure he is willing to take on the job, aren't you Grimmjow?" He locked eyes with the blue-haired Arrancar and smiled a smile that sent shudders down the latter's spine. Grimmjow huffed.

"Yes, Aizen-sama. Whatever you say." At once, the sword was withdrawn and Tousen retreated into the shadows of the room.

"You'll find her in the room. Leave her alone for another hour or so, and then I would like you to show her around Las Noches." Aizen instructed.

Grimmjow walked out after bowing slightly. 'Yes, your majesty,' he thought bitterly as he left the room.

As soon as Grimmjow had left, both Gin and Tousen stepped out from where they once were. Gin looked amused, whereas Tousen had his usual solemn expression plastered on his face.

"You're puttin' Grimmjow in charge, now are ya?" Gin asked. "Ya sure he's the right candidate for the job?"

Aizen got up from his seat. "Oh, I'm sure of it. Grimmjow will be a very good mentor for her." Aizen said. "Now let's go to check on our latest… experiment, shall we?" he added, as he walked out of the room, with the two Shinigami right behind him.

==x==

The girl lay on the bed, her limbs too tired to budge. Perhaps it had been 2 hours, perhaps it had been 10, but to the girl, it felt like eternity since she had moved.

Slowly, she stretched out one arm. When that worked well, she stretched her other. Pretty soon, she was off the bed, and was standing up.

The girl walked around the room. It was foreign to her, yet somewhat familiar. She couldn't put a finger to it, but it seemed as though she had been here before. There was a small window at the top of the room that seemed so familiar… She glanced about the room and saw that there was nothing of interest around except for a sword on the table.

She approached the table unhurriedly. There was no rush, and in any case, her feet felt extremely stiff. When she got to the table, her hands unknowingly hovered over the sword lying on it. The sword was in a black sheathe, and the handle was a brilliant blue in colour. The contrast was simply amazing, and the girl felt as though the sword was trying to speak to her.

_I'm yours_, it said. _All yours._

The girl felt a sudden pull towards the sword and her hands quickly seized it. There was a great flash of light and when she opened her eyes, the girl noticed that the sheathe had disappeared, and all that was left was the sword itself.

The sword in question had a blade that was Alice Blue, and its grip was a rather dark shade of grey. The cross-guard was in the shape of a cross, and was a bright gold in colour. Overall, it seemed to give off a kind of calming aura.

The girl blinked, and suddenly, the sword was back in its sheathe, as though whatever she had seen earlier was just an illusion.

A little confused, she picked up the sword and held it firmly between her hands. She noticed a door at the corner of the room and her feet started shuffling towards it. The girl turned the doorknob and took a step out of the room.

Coming to a small hallway, the girl decided to enter the room nearest to her own; that is, the door that was exactly twenty two steps away from her room. She pulled the door handle downwards and stepped into the room.

The lights came on automatically and the girl looked around for the first time. What she saw was completely unexpected.

There was a girl with brown hair, in a black uniform, her arms chained to the wall. She was out cold.

==x==

The girl took a step forward. And another, and another.

It seemed as though she had seen the brown-haired girl before, but she could not think of the place. The _prisoner_ looked very peaceful, and when the girl tried moving a strand of hair away from her face, she noticed something.

The girl was dead.

Or at least, she wasn't breathing.

Shuddering slightly, the girl withdrew her hand, but it touched the prisoner's skin anyway. Her skin felt cold and clammy, as though heat had not graced her for a couple of years.

_This must be the dungeon, _she thought.

Moving away from the prisoner, the girl saw a mirror at the side of the room, even though she could not see herself in the mirror.

This made her very curious. She started to think, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember what she looked like at all. Which was simply annoying.

So, she did the most obvious thing. She walked right up to the mirror and stared at it.

She found out that she had dark brown hair. Way darker than the prisoner girl. Her hair curled in slightly near the bottom (it reached the area just below her shoulder). She also noted that she was rather tall – about 1.7m in height. Her eyes were grey, and they looked as though they could display no emotion.

On both her ears were stud earrings in the shape of a cross – remnants of her mask. _So I'm an Arrancar, _she thought. In that case, her hollow hole had to be somewhere.

She searched her body. Finally she found her hollow hole. It was located just above her heart. It appeared fitting; her eyes could show no emotion, and the hole made it seem as though her heart did not exist.

She took a look at her outfit. She wore a white and black dress-like uniform, with long sleeves that stopped and curved just before they reached her hands. The uniform reached her knees, which was rather short. However, she wore a pair of long boots, which were also white and black in colour. But even though they were tall, quite a bit of leg could be seen (which made her a little uncomfortable).

The girl absorbed her reflection and tucked her sword snugly at the side of her garb. She turned to leave the room.

But just as she did that, the girl noticed that her reflection seemed to be… changing. Curiously, she spun around to face the mirror.

But before she could take a good look at anything, it shattered into a million pieces, leaving bits of broken glass on the floor.

==x==

Emm297: Gee, this theme was a bit dark, don't you think? If there's any mistake, pardon me. It's now 1.02am and I have to wake up at 6am for school. Gosh. But the story was so nice that I simply could not stop writing it. I guess this is what writers mean when they say they "get carried away".

Sorry for the late update. I just finished my finals. Results weren't as good as I had hoped for though… but never mind. I have fanfiction to keep my spirits up :) Oh, and I'm currently fangirl-ing over Inuyasha. Yeah, reading all the fanfictions (especially love Kouga/Kagome ones), listening to the songs, watching the episodes etc. I think Inuyasha: The Final Act is quite an epic anime continuation, anyone share my sentiments?

My email is good again! So I would like to give a big hug to: **XxFallingxxAngelxX, XoXoCHOCOXoXo, topangaxjazmin, sakurapedals, spoiled2theCore, Milley02** for reviewing, favourite-ing, and story alert-ing this story (after I posted 11 up)! XOXO :)

Hmmm, I'll try to get chapter 13 up in two weeks, so be sure to look out for it then! It's the nicer part of the story now. Will Hitsugaya find Sakura? Who is the prisoner really (I'm sure you can figure this out)? And just what happened to her (the prisoner)? Is she really dead?

Haha, you'll just have to wait and see! So see you in chapter 13!


	13. Prelude: Alice

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach. Period.

==x==

Hitsugaya paced up and down the room, clutching his Soul Phone tightly. Honestly, he was beginning to become frantic; it wasn't like Sakura to leave without telling someone. Sure, she didn't give a verbal goodbye the last time she left for Karakura, but at least she left a note back then. Now, he couldn't even find a piece of scribbled paper or a sign that she had left on a mission.

It was so unlike her to not say a word before leaving.

"Taicho! Is Sakura-taicho-chan back yet?"

Hitsugaya looked up to see his lieutenant walking through the door. "No," he replied. "Have you asked Ise-fukutaicho about the connection?"

Matsumoto nodded. "She said it would be up by tomorrow morning."

Hitsugaya slammed his fist on the table nearby. Matsumoto jumped, obviously startled. "Taicho, just relax. I'm sure she's fine."

Her captain just sank to the floor, defeated.

==x==

"Alright, I'm done here."

Szayel walked towards his desk, allowing the new Arrancar to get off the bench. She straightened her skirt out and sheathed her Zanpakutou.

Szayel yawned and turned to face his fellow Espada. "I'll get Grimmjow to come back here, just hold on."

"Why does he have to come? I can't stand him, and it's obvious that he can't stand me either." She retorted angrily.

"Aizen-sama's orders. He wants Grimmjow to train you."

The female Arrancar frowned. She didn't get why of all people, Grimmjow had to be assigned the role of her mentor. He was extremely irritating. In the few hours she had known him, Grimmjow had made fun of her mask, commenting about how girly it was to have earrings as mask remnants. He had also kicked her knees, thrown her over his shoulder, dumped her on the ground of the research lab, and hit her on the head. Needless to say, they didn't like each other very much.

She sat back down on the bench, still sulking. "Why do I even need a mentor anyway?" she muttered. Being a new-born Arrancar was just so frustrating. Just then, she remembered the girl she saw in the dungeon earlier in the morning.

"Hey, Szayel. Who's the girl in the dungeon?" she asked.

The researcher froze for a moment before clearing his throat. "A Shinigami."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "What's she doing down there?"

"She's an experiment gone wrong. She's dead; she wasn't supposed to die," he answered.

Alice made an 'O' shape with her mouth before staring at her feet again.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Grimmjow stepped in. "Woman, let's go."

Alice scowled and strode towards him. "My name is Alice, you dumbass." This was going to be one heck of a training session.

==x==

"HAHAHA! A KITTY! YOUR TRANSFORMATION IS A KITTY! THAT IS SO HILARIOUS!" roared Alice. Grimmjow had just shown her his Zanpakutou release, and it was so ridiculous that she had been laughing for the past 5 minutes.

"IT'S A PANDA, YOU IDIOT." Grimmjow yelled back furiously.

Alice continued to express her amusement. "Grimmjow's a stupid kitty!"

The blue-haired Arrancar's patience was quickly running out. A split second later, Alice felt something cold and hard at her throat. Grimmjow had snatched her Zanpakutou and pointed it at her neck.

The laughter ceased. "What gives?"

"Release your Zanpakutou now before I cut you up into tiny pieces of flesh," commanded Grimmjow. He stepped back and threw her Zanpakutou back at her.

'Impatient grandma,' Alice thought. Clearing her mind, she held her Zanpakutou vertically in front of her. This was her first time releasing her Zanpakutou, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do except "follow her instincts". And guess whose great advice that was?

Regardless, Alice was determined to make sure Grimmjow was stunned by her release form. Silently praying that it wasn't something stupid like a mouse or a dog, she took a deep breath.

"Oi, woman, hurry up!" Grimmjow's voice resounded throughout the training ground. Alice rolled her eyes and concentrated.

"Iluminar, fénix."

==x==

Being Las Noches' Head Researcher was no easy feat. It was unimaginably hard to deal with exploding test-tubes, malfunctioning machines and discoveries that proved previous theories wrong. Add all that to a pissed off Shinigami that self-proclaimed himself King and you had the recipe for a disastrous and hectic life.

But Szayel liked it. He liked researching on weird things. It made him feel as though he was getting more powerful with each passing day. To him, having the capability to outsmart opponents in battle was unmistakably important.

Yet, as the 8th Espada approached the throne room, he could not help but wish that he was not the head researcher. His footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, and the unsettling feeling in his stomach intensified with each step. He came to a halt outside the throne room.

"Szayel reporting to Aizen-sama," he announced, knocking once on the large door. Immediately, the door opened, and Szayel could see Aizen sitting on his throne, looking every inch like the King of Las Noches.

Aizen smiled. "How nice of you to drop by, Szayel."

Forget the unsettling feeling in his stomach. Aizen was just being downright creepy. A thick blanket of tension filled the atmosphere and the Espada gulped.

Adjusting his spectacles, Szayel moved towards the throne. "Aizen-sama, I have analyzed the lab data, and I have discovered why the Converter did not work as I thought it would."

The Shinigami did not respond, so Szayel continued. "The transformation process is only made possible because of the Hougyoku's energy that we have managed to extract, but it seems as though the machine multiplied this small amount of energy, causing the entire contraption to malfunction, overloading the control unit and corru–"

"Just tell me something," Aizen interrupted. "It _was_ error on your part, was it not?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama. I should have predicted this would happen," the researcher replied stiffly.

Aizen smirked, sending chills down the Espada's spine. "That's all I need to hear. And what is the status of our dear Shinigami friend?"

"She's dead," Szayel said. "Her Zanpakutou can no longer be released as well."

"Interesting, interesting. What do you suggest we do with her now?"

"Although it _would_ be the best thing to do if we do not want… unexpected events to happen, it would be unwise to burn her corpse because it might affect the newest member of our army. I know that the two of them are linked, I just haven't discovered how."

Aizen nodded, although Szayel knew that he was just patronizing him. "So we'll let her continue her stay in the dungeon so you can find out all you need to know," Aizen said. "You may leave now."

Szayel bowed in respect and hurriedly strode out of the room. Just as he was about to close the door, he heard Aizen speak.

"Oh, Szayel? Please do your job properly this time. I will not tolerate any more mistakes."

"Hai, Aizen-sama."

==x==

Aizen was livid. How could his subordinates be such _fools_, such _idiots_? 'Incompetent and stupid,' he thought. He most certainly did not, and would not, tolerate such nonsense in his kingdom. However, he knew he had to keep Szayel in Las Noches since he was the only one of all the idiots who knew how to build and invent new contraptions and gadgets.

The Shinigami ran a hand through his hair. So the little captain Shinigami had died, had she? He most definitely did not expect that to happen. Wasn't he given assurance that everything would go as planned?

Stupid Octava Espada.

Originally, his plan was to have the girl fight alongside him. That would take care of that short white-haired captain, no problem. He was even planning to have her fight that Substitute Shinigami from Karakura Town after she was finished with Hitsugaya. What a wonderful scene that would be.

Now, however, seeing as she was _dead,_ this was no longer possible. This sudden turn of events was not welcome at all.

"Perhaps you could just taunt her friends with her dead body?" said a voice from behind the pillar.

Aizen did not have to look to see who it was. "Gin, how nice of you to make time to eavesdrop."

Ichimaru Gin stepped out of the shadows. "Sorry, Aizen-sama, but I had to hear for myself what was going on with our little Sakura-taicho."

"It's fine, I knew you were there anyway."

Gin walked towards his superior. "She's dead, huh? Not to be rude or anything, Aizen-sama, but wouldn't that make all your plans useless?"

Aizen chuckled. "Gin, how long will it take for you to realize that I am always one step ahead of everyone?"

Gin didn't have to ask to know that Aizen had already formulated a better, more foolproof plan.

==x==

The calmness of the night sky stood in stark contrast to the tense atmosphere back in the Inoue residence.

"Hitsugaya-kun, would you like a bowl of carrot soup?" Orihime asked politely, offering her friend a silver bowl.

The captain shook his head, much too worried to eat. "Are you sure you haven't heard from her?" he asked his lieutenant, who was happily drinking her third bowl of soup.

"Positive," she said. "Taicho, why don't you just hop over to Soul Society?"

"Sou-taicho will murder me if he knows I left my post," Hitsugaya said. "You're absolutely sure you didn't hear from her?"

Matsumoto shook her head. "If I did, I would tell you."

Hitsugaya continued pacing up and down the room. "Inoue-san, when was the last time you saw Sakura?"

Orihime tapped her chin repeatedly. "Before I went out to the market that day, I think. When I came back, she wasn't there."

A sudden crash of thunder boomed and the sound of falling rain came next. Orihime placed her bowl on the table and stood up. "I'm going to close the windows," she said, rushing over to the bedrooms.

Hitsugaya slammed his fist on the wall. "Why hasn't anyone heard from her?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Taicho, slamming your fists on hard surfaces is not good for your knuckles."Matsumoto warned. Hitsugaya wasn't in the slightest mood to reply.

"Hitsugaya-kun! Rangiku-san! You guys need to see this!" yelled Orihime, with a hint of worry distinguishable in her voice.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto rushed into the bedroom. Orihime's back was facing them, and she was kneeling in front of a potted plant.

"What is it, Orihime-chan?" Matsumoto asked, peering over the girl's shoulder. Hitsugaya did the same. Orihime pointed at one of the branches of the plant. "Look," she said.

Both Shinigami gasped.

Hanging from the branch was a ribbon. _A white ribbon_.

_Sakura's ribbon._

==x==

_emm297: I sincerely apologize for the year-long wait. I have no excuses for myself other than the fact that inspiration somehow left me and I honestly didn't know what to write anymore. And I have my GCE O Level Examinations in about a week from today… But one day, BAM! I got my inspiration back while re-reading Once Upon a Sakura Flower, and finally got down to writing this chapter. So I deeply apologize and I hope (and pray) that I still have readers even though you guys have probably forgotten about this story. If there are people still reading this, next update will probably be after the 18__th__ of November. Maybe earlier, we'll see. But then again, I have said this before, haven't I? And look at where we are now. Hmmm. I'm really sorry everyone! Love, Emm._


	14. Missing

Emm297: Still don't own Bleach, sadly.

==x==

"I do not know why I, of all people, have to put up with you." Grimmjow grumbled, as he sat down on the floor right next to the female Arrancar. The latter simply shrugged and placed her Zanpakutou on the ground beside her.

"And I wonder why _I _have to put up with _you_," she said pointedly. The pair had just finished their little training session for the day, and as much as Grimmjow would have hated to admit it, the girl was good. Not fantastically brilliant like he was, but she was getting there. And really fast too.

At the thought of this, Grimmjow scoffed, earning a glare from his mentee. "What was that for?"

Grimmjow didn't reply, and only leant back to stare at the sky. There was no freaking way she would be as good as him. "I hate you. So bloody much."Alice raised an eyebrow before leaning back as well.

"Don't worry; the feeling's mutual."

==x==

Aizen strode into the dungeons of Las Noches, Gin and Tousen flanking him on both sides. He looked around the room for a moment before his eyes spotted a little brown-haired girl on the far corner of the room. He said nothing, and simply walked forward into the darkness. Tousen closed the door.

"Well, well… Our dear friend really is gone." Aizen stated, once he had neared the chained Shinigami. Sakura was motionless, and Aizen noted that her skin really was ice cold. Her Zanpakutou was nowhere to be seen, and her long brown hair cascaded slightly below her shoulders.

"I'm not used to Sakura-taicho being so… not talkative," said Gin, with the same smile he always wore on his face. Aizen shook his head and motioned for the other two to follow him out of the room silently.

There was no doubt about it – Toushime Sakura was no longer alive.

==x==

"Taicho, please, _pleaseI_! Just hang on for a second!" Matsumoto Rangiku exclaimed. "We're not even sure if Sakura-taicho-chan met with a mishap!"

Hitsugaya stopped just a few metres from the door. He spun around to face his vice-captain – annoyance and worry flashed across his face. "You want me to hang on? Sakura could be out there somewhere, _bleeding to death_, getting _slashed by some strange enemy_, or maybe even _d… de… dead, _for all we know, and you want me to just HANG ON? How do you expect me to HANG ON when she could be in trouble? She _never_ goes _anywhere_ without that ribbon; she herself told me so the other night! How do you explain the ribbon then? How, Matsumoto? How?"

Hitsugaya's face was flushed from the tirade, and he breathed heavily. Seconds later, his knees gave way and he collapsed onto the ground on his knees. Tears started to form in his turquoise orbs, but he didn't care. He looked away from Matsumoto. "And… And _I_, I didn't even know until now. She could be dead for all I know and it would be my fault…. My fault. Not yours. Mine."

Orihime stood by the window, unsure of what to say or do in such a situation. Matsumoto, on the other hand, walked forward and placed a hand on her captain's shoulder. He was still shaking slightly. "It's not your fault, taicho. It's mine too for not noticing earlier."

Hitsugaya shook his head in protest. Matsumoto merely smiled slightly. "Alright. Come on, taicho. Let's go to Urahara-san's now."

The 10th Squad Captain finally looked at his vice-captain, his _friend_, and gave a small nod of appreciation before heaving himself off the ground. "Thank you, Matsumoto."

==x==

Kurosaki Ichigo was training. Really hard.

He had agreed to Hirako Shinji's offer – the one where he said that they could help him control his Hollow self. After he saw Inoue so badly beaten up, he couldn't help but blame himself. Knowing he could have done something if he was stronger frustrated him to no end, and Kurosaki Ichigo knew that he had to do something in order to prevent the same thing from happening twice.

Yet, when Orihime came rushing down into the old warehouse in the middle of one of his training sessions, the news she brought with her shocked him. She told him that Aizen was currently trying to make the King's Key in order to become the King of Soul Society, and that a winter war was predicted to be inevitable. But it was not this piece of news that got his tongue tied.

Sakura, _the Sakura that he knew_, was apparently missing.

And so, while Inoue was getting one of her fairy things fixed up, Ichigo stood there, contemplating his next move. Well, he sure owned the captain a lot. She had helped him and his friends train for the infiltration of Soul Society, and she was the one who kicked some sense into his thick skull a few days ago. They were friends. No, maybe perhaps even more than that. As comrades in battle, they were close. She could even be considered a best friend to him. What to do?

When he saw Inoue thanking Hachi and bidding him farewell, his mouth seemed to move by itself. The answer to his question was fairly obvious.

"Wait, Inoue. I want to help."

==x==

"Renji! What do you mean Sakura-taicho is missing?" Kuchiki Rukia asked. The redhead scratched his head in an awkward fashion and shook his head.

"I don't know either; Urahara-san just told me that Sakura-taicho was missing and that you guys were coming over. After that, he disappeared downstairs and hasn't returned. Yoruichi-san is with him."

Rukia frowned. She was about to ask her childhood friend another question when the door to the room they were currently occupying slid open, revealing Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Ishida, Sado, Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"Is everyone here yet?" asked a very anxious looking Hitsugaya. Ishida scanned the room. "Anyone know where Inoue-san went? I heard she was the one who discovered that she was missing."

At that moment, the door slid open yet again to reveal two orange-haired teenagers standing in the doorway.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried out, holding her arms out melodramatically. "You're alive!"

Ichigo went over to her and gave her a good smack on the head. "Yes, I'm alive. No need to sound so sarcastic." He sat down next to Rukia, who pouted, and motioned for Orihime to sit down as well, not noticing the obvious blush that stained her cheeks as she sat next to her crush. "Inoue told me that Sakura is missing. What exactly happened to her?"

"Orihime-chan found her ribbon on a potted plant just now. Sakura-taicho-chan never goes anywhere without it, and upon closer inspection, the ribbon looked as though it had been pulled off because her hair got caught in the plants. There was a small tear at the side of the ribbon, which probably indicates that Sakura was in a hurry to leave." Matsumoto explained carefully. "Why would she get her hair stuck in a plant and just yank her hair out without bothering to take the ribbon?"

"Kidnap," Renji concluded.

Matsumoto nodded gratefully. "Taicho seems to think so too."

Ichigo looked at the white-haired Shinigami. "What's the plan, Toushiro?"

Hitsugaya was too absorbed in trying to figure out where Sakura was to correct his statement. "I'm not sure," he answered simply, burying his face in his hands.

Matsumoto glanced at her captain, a worried expression evident on her face. For the first time in a long while, Hitsugaya was actually at a loss as to what to do. Having no clue as to what she should do, she merely placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll find her, taicho. We will." Hitsugaya looked up at his vice-captain and smiled slightly, grateful for her support.

Just then, Yoruichi walked into the room. All eyes were on her as she scanned the room quickly before her gaze landed on Hitsugaya. "Kisuke found something."

Nobody had to be told what to do next. They just got up and followed Yoruichi out of the room.

==x==

"Ah, I see everyone has come! Splendid!" Urahara Kisuke laughed, pointing the entire team towards the centre of the basement training ground.

Hitsugaya spoke first. "Do you know what happened to her?"

Urahara's face suddenly turned serious, and he nodded gravely. "I may have an idea… Hear me out first."

When nobody responded, he continued. "A few days ago, Sakura-chan came to me complaining about something. She told me that she was getting messages from strangers telling her weird things."

Ichigo couldn't stop himself from commenting. "Strangers telling her weird things?"

Urahara pretended he did not hear him. "I told her someone was trying to penetrate her mind. In fact, I actually witnessed this happen when she came to find me. For two whole minutes, she blacked out without warning and when she woke up, she told me what she saw in her mind. I just told her that someone was trying to get into her mind. What I didn't tell her, was that during those two minutes, I had placed a 'trace' on her mind."

This time, Matsumoto spoke. "What kind of trace?"

"Some sort of a mix between a kidou and my own invention. What trace it is doesn't matter. What matters is that this trace allowed me to track all the activity in her brain. Just so, you know, in case she had another of these 'attacks', I would be able to study them and find out more about this technique. Well, after I was informed of her disappearance, I was baffled. I could still feel her trace, so I thought she _couldn't_ have left Karakura Town."

"You mean she's still around her somewhere?" Hitsugaya exclaimed hopefully.

Urahara shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not," he went on to explain further. "You see, I thought she was still in Karakura Town. But I was wrong. After much tweaking and adjusting, I realised that the trace I was looking at was fake. In other words, someone had managed to figure out that I had placed a trace on her and had redirected it to a fake source. Whoever did it knew what he or she was doing. Even I was fooled for awhile.

"In any case, I tried searching for the real trace again. Even after some more adjustments and changes, I could not locate her trace. But then I realised that I could locate the force that had redirected my trace. Whoever was responsible for invading her mind was probably also responsible for her kidnap. Hence, I started more calculations and adjustments and finally determined where she was."

"And…? What did you find? Come on, Urahara, we don't have all day!" It was clear that Hitsugaya was getting very impatient, and honestly, Urahara could not blame him either.

He adjusted his hat and unfolded his fan, placing it just in front of his mouth.

"Sakura-chan has been taken to Hueco Mundo."

==x==

Emm297: I honestly apologize for the lack of update, but here it is! Chapter 14 of Once Upon a Moonlit Twilight. I'm hoping the inspiration will stay with me, but it's hard to tell. I've been re-reading Once Upon a Sakura Flower and the earlier chapters of OUMT for more inspiration, so fingers crossed! :) Thanks for sticking by this story everyone!


	15. Initial Encounters

It was easy to see the shock on everyone's faces.

"Hueco… Hueco Mundo?" Orihime asked the question that nobody dared to ask.

Urahara nodded slowly, confirming everyone's fears. "It would seem like that. At least, I'm quite sure the person who tried to get into her mind came from there."

"This means… Aizen's got a hold of her." Everyone turned towards Hitsugaya, who was looking towards the ground, fists clenched tightly. "That bastard…"

"Well, we can't just stand here and wait for something to happen," Ichigo remarked, causing everyone to turn their attention to him. "I mean, there _has _to be something we can do."

Renji turned towards Matsumoto. "We have to inform the Captain Commander."

At this, Ichigo's look turned incredulous. "Sakura could be half-dead on that side and you think the next step should be to _inform Yamamoto_? Do you guys seriously lack common sense?"

Matsumoto shook her head regretfully. "We're tied to Soul Society. We can't act without direct orders from the Captain Commander."

Ichigo couldn't believe his ears. "But this is a matter of life and death! They could be torturing her right now, forcing information out of her, experimenting on her – and all you want to do is wait for orders? Are you guys serious? What if sh –"

"SHUT UP!"

The whole room turned to look at Hitsugaya, who was panting rather heavily. It seemed as though he himself was stunned by his outburst. He took five seconds to compose himself – hastily wiping off a small tear from his left eye – before continuing. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki. But we're going to have to inform the sou-taicho about this first."

"But…" Ichigo looked towards Rukia for support, but the latter merely shook her head sadly.

Hitsugaya started walking out of the basement. "Let's go, we're going back to report this to the Captain Commander. We won't be able to do anything if we get stripped of our posts and locked up." He glanced at Urahara's direction and nodded curtly before disappearing up the stairs. The other Shinigami followed closely behind.

"Kurosaki-kun, are we going to follow them?" asked Orihime.

Ichigo sighed. "I guess we have no choice."

==x==

Las Noches was an extremely quiet place to reside in. It was the ideal place if you sought serenity and loved silence.

Personally, Alice found the whole place a little stifling.

"Hey, Grimmjow," she said, turning to the Arrancar next to her. "Is it always this quiet in here?"

Grimmjow groaned. "Would you please stop asking stupid questions everytime we turn a corner?" Sensing that the new Arrancar wasn't pleased with his answer, he spoke up again. "Yes. It has always been this quiet. Happy?"

Alice smiled. Annoying Grimmjow was fast becoming one of her favourite forms of entertainment. "Hey, Grimmjow," she started again, only to have Grimmjow stop right in his tracks and turn towards his companion.

"I mean it. If you don't stop asking me dumb questions, I will punch you so hard that you won't even remember your last name."

Alice frowned, completely unaffected by his threat. "Do I even _have _a last name?"

The ex-Espada could feel his blood beginning to boil. Yet, he calmly placed both hands in his pockets and continued walking forward. _'Stupid Aizen-sama wouldn't be too happy if I killed her before she had completed her purpose,' _he thought grumpily.

"So what's my last name huh? What is it? What is it? What is it?" Alice whined, pouting and tugging on Grimmjow's sleeve.

Grimmjow jerked his arm away angrily and quickened his pace. "I don't know your last name either, woman. Stop being a pain and shut up, will ya?"

Alice sighed, and widened her strides so she could catch up with Grimmjow. The two were on their way to the throne room, as Ulquiorra had told them that Aizen wanted to speak to the both of them as soon as possible. Which was really just a polite way of saying 'now'.

The walk to the throne room was quiet, as Alice had given up trying to annoy Grimmjow, seeing as how the latter was already in a foul mood. Although they had only been together for a few days, Alice already felt like she was on the same wavelength as Grimmjow - after all, he was the only other Arrancar whom she talked to and trained with. The other Arrancar around her all gave her weird stares and kept glancing at her menacingly. Thankfully, none of them had done anything to her, since she was always accompanied by Grimmjow wherever she went. She would not admit it, but she actually did appreciate the blue-haired Arrancar's presence.

Upon arrival at the throne room, Grimmjow opened the door for the both of them to enter. Aizen was seated on the huge throne at the far end of the room as usual. However, this time, all the Espada were gathered there as well.

"Ah, Grimmjow and Alice. Glad that you could make it," said Aizen. Alice shivered. The smile on his face was strangely creepy. This was the first time she had seen Aizen in person, and he was every bit as scary as Grimmjow had described him to be.

Aizen gestured towards the pair. "Now, since everyone is here, I would like to start our meeting formally by introducing the latest edition to our Arrancar family. This, is Alice." Alice could feel the stares of the Espada, as if they were trying to access her capabilities just by looking at her. She bowed slightly, hoping that they would look elsewhere.

"As you all probably know, our little Shinigami friend, who came not so many days ago, is now dead thanks to Szayel's incompetency." At this, Aizen glanced at Szayel, who lowered his head. "However, her death has led to another Arrancar joining our family. I believe that Alice will be an important asset in our war against Soul Society. Grimmjow here has graciously accepted the role of Alice's trainer, and according to him, Alice has made significant progress during the past few days.

"Therefore, I have decided to send both of them down to Karakura Town so that she can get the experience fighting against the Shinigami."

Alice looked up in shock. Karakura Town? Shinigami? She had just managed to unlock some of her Zanpakutou's attacks a few hours ago and Aizen already wanted her to go down to test the waters? Wasn't he being a little too confident about her powers?

Aizen seemed to sense her hesitation. "Alice, is there a problem?" Not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble, Alice shook her head quickly.

"Good. Now, I want you to go to Karakura Town and seek out an orange-haired Shinigami by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo, and a white-haired captain Shinigami called Hitsugaya Toushiro. They are to be your main opponents, do you understand?" Aizen waited for Alice to nod before continuing. "Grimmjow will take care of anyone who tries to interfere with your fight. All I need you to do is to fight them, assess how Shinigami fight - fight to see their strengths, weaknesses, capabilities… But don't, under any circumstances, kill them. That can wait for later. Once you think you have shown enough of your power to pose a threat to them, leave and return immediately."

Alice nodded again. "Fight, but don't kill. Understood."

"Good. You are both to leave Hueco Mundo at once." Aizen dismissed them with a casual wave of his hand. "Oh, and take a few Gillian with you to distract the crowd."

==x==

Ichigo and the others were currently on their way to Orihime's house, since that was where the communication portal to Soul Society was located. The substitute Shinigami cast a glance at Hitsugaya. Although the latter tried to hide it, Ichigo could tell that Hitsugaya was going crazy with worry and guilt. After leaving Urahara's shop, the captain Shinigami had not said a single word. In fact, none of them had said anything. The tension was almost too much to bear.

Just then, a beeping sound came from the pockets of all the Shinigami present, forcing everyone to stop in their tracks. Ichigo didn't need to be told to figure out that that sound meant that Hollows were attacking Karakura Town. He cursed. Of all times for a Hollow attack.

"How many?" he asked. "If it's one or two I could go take care of it while you guys continue to Inoue's hou-"

"No, there's… there's at least fifty of them…" Rukia interrupted, a look of shock on her face. "And they're almost all Menos…"

Ichigo was taken aback. A huge group of Menos-class Hollow in Karakura at the same time? Exactly what had triggered this? He looked at the others, who all had a look on their faces that was similar to Rukia's. However, Hitsugaya wasted no time in composing himself.

"Reporting Sakura's kidnap will have to wait," said the captain Shinigami. "Defeating them and ensuring the town's safety is still our number one priority."

At this, Ichigo frowned. "Aren't you worried about Sakura at all? How can you just put her in second priority now?!"

Hitsugaya looked as though he was about to explode. "You think I'm not worried? I'm worried sick about her. But I know my duty, Kurosaki. And as the substitute Shinigami, I hope you know yours too." With that, he turned away from Ichigo, and begun dividing jobs to the other Shinigami present, leaving Ichigo stunned.

Orihime was the first to speak up. "We want to help too, Hitsugaya-kun."

"I wouldn't normally say yes, but we'll need all the help we can get," replied Hitsugaya. "Matsumoto, you, Orihime and Kuchiki take care of the East side. Abarai, Sado and Ishida will go to the West. Yumichika and Ikkaku will go to the North. I'll take charge of the South. We'll meet once we're done." The group quickly separated, leaving Hitsugaya with Ichigo.

"Kurosaki. Are you going to help or not?"

Ichigo, who had already changed out of his human form, stood with Zangetsu in his right hand. "Count me in. I'll go with you to the South." Hitsugaya nodded, and the two of them were just about to shunpo off when a voice called out.

_"That won't be necessary." _

The two looked up immediately. In the sky stood a female dressed in a white and black dress, with a Zanpakutou attached to a sash on her hip. Beside her was a blue-haired Arrancar that Ichigo knew only too well.

"Grimmjow!" shouted the orange-haired Shinigami. The male Arrancar didn't reply. Instead, the female Arrancar appeared before the pair in a flash.

"Orange-haired and white-haired Shinigami!" exclaimed the female Arrancar. "Looks like I won't be needing to fight you guys separately then!"

Hitsugaya, who had figured that the both of them were Arrancar, went into battle stance. "Who are you and what have you done to Sakura?"

The female Arrancar simply smiled and jumped back a few metres. "My name's Alice. I do not know anything about a 'Sakura', though."

"Cut the crap!" Ichigo yelled. "We all know you took Sakura. What do you want from her?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about!" Alice pouted. "Anyway, can we fight now or must I make the first move?"

Hitsugaya was already getting impatient. "Kurosaki, you go take care of the Menos on the South side. I'll take care of this Arrancar." Ichigo nodded, albeit reluctantly, and made a move as if to flash-step away, only to find his path blocked by the Zanpakutou of none other than Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

"Sorry buddy, but I can't let you escape. She's got a mission to complete." Grimmjow said, before swinging his Zanpakutou, causing Ichigo to fall back towards the ground.

Alice, who was still watching Hitsugaya intently, did not even look up to see Ichigo fall. Instead, she pursed her lips and tilted her head slightly. "Hey you," she said, pointing towards Hitsugaya. "You look familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"I highly doubt it," came the reply. "What have you done to Sakura?" asked Hitsugaya again.

Alice stomped her feet. "I already told you! I don't know anything about a 'Sakura'!" She paused suddenly, as if thinking about something. "However, I did see this brown-haired girl in the dungeons though…"

Both Ichigo's and Hitsugaya's faces turned white. "Dungeons?"

"Yup, but she's dead though." Alice smiled, placing her hand on her Zanpakutou. "Just like how you're going to be in a minute."

Ichigo was about to move forward when he felt Hitsugaya's reiatsu fluctuate, which was abnormal, since he wasn't usually able to sense reiatsu. "Toushiro, are you alright?"

Hitsugaya did not reply, but Ichigo could sense that the captain Shinigami was trying to compose himself, but failing miserably. "Sakura is not dead! _Souten ni Zase, Hyorinmaru!_" Without warning, Hitsugaya shot forward, pointing his Zanpakutou at the female Arrancar.

What happened next was completely unexpected. There was a huge explosion, and a dust cloud formed over the street. When it cleared, Ichigo was shocked by what he saw.

The Arrancar was stopping Hitsugaya's blade with just her little finger.

Alice shook her head sadly. "Stupid Shinigami, when will you learn never to let your emotions control you while in battle?"

All of a sudden, Alice disappeared, only to reappear a few feet away. Her Zanpakutou was out, and Ichigo noted the blood-stained Alice Blue blade, which reminded him so much of Sakura's own Zanpakutou. He was about to mention this to the Arrancar when suddenly, he heard a loud crack, as if ice were shattering. He turned to look at Hitsugaya just in time to a huge crimson red gash appear on the back of his haori before the captain fell to the ground in a heap.

"Toushiro!" Ichigo shouted, but received no response from the captain. "You, what do you want with us?"

Alice turned around to face Ichigo. "I just want to fight you, really." She motioned towards Hitsugaya, who had not gotten up. "That one over there was the one I was more worried about, honestly. But he seems pretty affected by the death of this Sakura Shinigami lady. If you're just as affected as him, I doubt you'll be much of a threat. I won't even have to release my Zanpakutou!"

Ichigo clenched his free hand in response and raised Zangetsu high above him. "I do not know for sure that Sakura is dead, but what I do know, is that I'm about to kick your Arrancar ass!" He charged towards Alice, and swung his sword with all his might. Alice jumped out of the way quickly, as Zangetsu came into contact with the ground, sending bits of gravel flying towards her. She moved swiftly out of the way.

"Is that all you can do, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Alice laughed. "It's going to take much more than a little sword swinging to get rid of me."

"Well, I have a lot more than sword swinging in my repertoire." Ichigo raised Zangetsu above him once more. "Bankai!"

There was a great big flash of light as reiatsu completely surrounded Ichigo, causing Alice to shield her eyes with her free hand. Just as she did that, however, a sword came swinging down at her, and she raised her own sword just in time to block Ichigo's attack.

"Tensa Zangetsu," said Ichigo. He pushed harder against Alice's sword. "Now tell me exactly why Aizen wanted Sakura."

Alice, who seemed to be having difficulty pushing Ichigo away, suddenly smirked, surprising Ichigo. "Like I said, I don't know anything. All I know is, I'm supposed to kick your ass today. Not the other way round." She grabbed onto her Zanpakutou with both hands, and suddenly, Ichigo felt himself being pushed back.

"Let me show you exactly what I'm capable of," said the Arrancar. "Don't worry, I'm just aiming to seriously injure you, so take note that what you see next is simply the preview. Be sure to tell that little captain Shinigami this too."

Ichigo risked a glance at Hitsugaya, who was still down on the ground. "Toushiro! Get up!" Still no response from the captain.

"Ignore him, he's much too weak to pose a serious threat to anyone now." Alice stated. "Now, let me demonstrate what a pseudo-Arrancar is capable of." Alice placed her sword horizontally in front of her chest.

"Iluminar, fénix."

There was another explosion and Ichigo was pushed back by the sheer force of it. He steadied himself and waited for the revelation of the Arrancar's Zanpakutou release. When the smoke cleared, Ichigo took in the figure in front of him.

Alice's white and black dress was now gone, and in its place was a crimson and black dress of the same length and style. The dress appeared to be singed at the bottom, giving it a very jagged look. Instead of boots, the Arrancar had what looked like anklets of fire around her feet. Her Zanpakutou was now gone, and her earrings, which Ichigo assumed to be the remnants of her Hollow mask, had lengthened slightly, leaving them dangling instead of being simple studs. However, what surprised Ichigo the most was the two huge crimson wings with a black outline on the back of the Arrancar that extended for about 3 metres on each side. And on both of Alice's hands were two huge claws that seemed to be made of fire.

Any thought of this Arrancar being Sakura's reincarnation or Hollow form completely disappeared from Ichigo's mind. This Arrancar was a fire-based Arrancar. Sakura's Zanpakutou was ice-based. They were complete opposites of each other - there was no way that this could be her.

"Lost your tongue, Shinigami?" taunted Alice. "This is my Resurrección. I hope you're prepared to be burned, because you have the honour of being my first victory."

Ichigo didn't even have time to blink before he felt himself being flung back violently. His body soared across the air and he landed within a metre of Hitsugaya. The captain was not dead - no, he was really far from it. The wound was merely a superficial one; even Ichigo could tell. However, the Shinigami was simply staring into space, his Zanpakutou lying next to him.

"Toushiro, you gotta get up!" called Ichigo, as he stood up to face Alice once more. "Come on, you can't just lie there!"

Alice sighed. "He's not going to be getting up, in my opinion. Who's this 'Sakura' to you guys anyway?"

"She's our friend! Now give her back!" yelled Ichigo in reply, once more taking up battle stance.

"No can do, buddy." She shook her head. "Now let's finish this," answered Alice, before she rushed toward Ichigo once more.

==x==

Matsumoto, Rukia and Orihime had finished dealing with the Hollows on their side of the town. It wasn't easy, but the three of them together managed to defeat the group of eight Gillian.

"Let's hurry back," Matsumoto suggested. "There may be someone who needs our help." Rukia and Orihime nodded, and they were just about to leave when they felt a huge explosion nearby. All three turned towards it, and they saw a huge cloud of smoke rise up into the sky. All of a sudden, a huge surge of spiritual energy could be felt.

"What… What was that?" Orihime asked, still looking towards the direction which the explosion came from.

Rukia and Matsumoto both looked at each other. "Can you feel that?" asked the former. Matsumoto nodded gravely.

"It's where Hitsugaya-taicho and Ichigo are," she confirmed. "And that Arrancar named Grimmjow is also there."

"There's one more spiritual presence that I can't name. It's something like that of an Arrancar's, but it's different…" replied Rukia, who looked at Matsumoto for answers.

The strawberry blonde didn't have any. "In any case, let's not waste any more time. We have to help. The South side still has some Hollow, it seems." Matsumoto said, looking at her Soul Phone. "Let's quickly solve that and go help taicho and Ichigo."

==x==

Ichigo could feel the heat of Alice's phoenix claw on his neck, even though he was blocking her with Zangetsu. The Arrancar was strong, but he could sense that she was still holding back. He did not understand why though. And Grimmjow was just watching the two of them fight from above, not bothering to do anything. Was this just a test for this Arrancar? If so, why had she said that she wanted to seek out both him and Hitsugaya? Why the two of them? What was Aizen planning now? And why was this Arrancar so special? Either way, he had to end this, and fast. Hitsugaya was not being responsive, and Ichigo did not like the idea of leaving him lying on the ground in such a dejected manner. Someone had to talk some sense into him.

"Getsuga Tenshō!" yelled Ichigo, as a black crescent-shaped light emerged from his Zanpakutou, causing Alice to jump out of the way. She was quick too, but luckily, Ichigo's Bankai had allowed him to match up to her speed. For now, at least. There was no telling when his luck would change, and Ichigo had to be on his guard at every second. After all, he didn't know what a pseudo-Arrancar was, neither was he familiar with what the pseudo-Arrancar's capabilities were. So far, all he had heard of was Arrancars and Espadas, but no one mentioned anything about a pseudo one.

"Tch." Ichigo looked up, and saw a long cut form on Alice's cheek. Blood trickled down from it slowly.

Alice was panting; she wasn't prepared for Kurosaki Ichigo to put up much of a fight, since Grimmjow, who had saw him fight before, had told her that the orange-haired boy was nothing special. Yet, she was starting to think that maybe Kurosaki Ichigo was more of a fighter than they both expected him to be.

"Tired, are we?" mocked Ichigo. "You could just give up now and tell us what Aizen wants with Sakura!"

Refusing to give up, Alice raised her fire claw above her head. She would not be defeated so easily - Aizen had such high hopes of her and she was determined to not let him down.

"_Incendio_."

She brought her claw down swiftly in one motion, and a trident-shaped fire blast erupted from the tips of her claws, making its way towards Ichigo at a fast speed. Ichigo, who had little time to dodge, had to raise his sword up to block his face. The fire did not dissipate, and continued to push against him. Sweat began to trickled down his forehead, blurring his vision. But that was the least of his problems. Tensa Zangetsu was beginning to feel hot, and the metal was starting to burn his skin. If he kept blocking the fire in this manner, it was only a matter of time before the metal completely burned his hand.

"Getsuga Tenshō!" he yelled once more, causing the fire to dissipate. Ichigo jumped back and took a quick look at his hand. It wasn't burnt, but the skin was getting raw.

Suddenly remembering that Hitsugaya had an ice-type Zanpakutou, Ichigo called out to him once more. "Toushiro! I could really use your help to cool her down!" Hitsugaya didn't even budge. "Come on, Toushiro, you gotta help me out here! What use is a captain if he just lies there and does nothing?!"

Alice interrupted Ichigo with another _Incendio_ attack, and Ichigo had to jump out of the way quickly. He had to figure out a way to stop her fire attacks, and fast. But how? Hitsugaya was not being useful, so using ice to combat the heat wouldn't work at all. Besides, the fire would simply melt all his ice moves, so relying simply on Hitsugaya wouldn't work. No, the two of them had to work together in order for them to defeat the Arrancar.

"Toushiro, you gotta get up!" Ichigo shouted. "We need to work together!"

Alice smirked. "He can't hear you, it seems. Oh well, tough luck. Hope your hand can still take more of my fire, because I've got a lot left in me." Alice sliced the air in a 'X' pattern with both claws.

"_Petardo_."

An 'X'-shaped fire blast emerged, and moved towards Ichigo. It was slower than the previous _Incendio_ attack, which gave him time to dodge. However, just as he moved out of the way of the fire blast, it disappeared.

Ichigo looked around. "Wait… What happened?"

His answer came in the form of loud blasts as medium-sized balls of fire suddenly formed around him. Just as he found himself surrounded, all the balls of fire quickly rushed towards Ichigo. He didn't even have time to block nor dodge, and the next thing he knew, he was falling towards the ground.

"_Petardo_ means firecracker. You don't think a move with that name would manifest itself in the form of an X-shaped blast, now would you?" Alice said from her position in the sky. "Now to finish you off for today." She drew a circle in the air with the index finger of her right hand. The fire claw moved in unison, forming a ring of fire in the sky. She pointed her index finger at the centre of the circle.

"Cero." A bright red energy blast started forming, and Ichigo, whose robe had been burnt badly in the previous attack, could not move.

"Damnit," he cursed, desperately trying to move his arm. But he only managed to move it a little. He closed his eyes in preparation for the attack that he knew would come. If he was lucky, maybe he could move his Zanpakutou in front of him to block the attack from hitting him directly.

Alice sighed. She had actually wished for the battle to continue a little more. Kurosaki Ichigo made a really good practice partner in comparison to Grimmjow. But orders were orders, and she knew she had to quickly wrap this up and report back to Aizen. "Go, Cero." Her command echoed throughout the night.

There was another huge explosion that occurred, causing another huge ash cloud to erupt and cover the battlefield. Alice turned to leave when unexpectedly, a voice spoke.

"Hold on, I'm not done with you yet." Alice turned sharply, only to find none other than Hitsugaya Toushiro standing in front of her. She looked towards Ichigo, and found only a crater where her Cero should have hit. She glanced towards the right of the crater, and saw the bruised body of the substitute Shinigami lying there. He was in bad shape, but he was still alive. No doubt, Hitsugaya had got to him before the Cero did.

Frowning, Alice looked back at the white-haired Captain. "You still want to fight? What happened to moping about because little Sakura died?"

"I don't believe she's dead. You don't even know who Sakura is, so how would you know whether she's dead or not? Aizen took her, and I will get her back from you." Hitsugaya's reply was immediate. "Kurosaki's right. I shouldn't behave in such a manner. I'm a captain," he continued. "And you're just some Arrancar." With that, he swung his Zanpakutou once more, and an ice dragon flew towards Alice rapidly.

"Tch. Fire melts ice - or are you too distraught to remember that?" She swung her claw down swiftly once more, causing another trident-shaped fire blast to erupt from her fire claws. "_Incendio_!"

Fire met ice, and steam quickly formed and covered the entire arena. "I did not think about that…" Alice muttered. The steam was really thick and warm, and blocked her vision. A sudden movement to her right caused her to instinctively jump back just in time to avoid the Zanpakutou of the Shinigami Captain.

"I'm afraid you're in my field now. My Zanpakutou can control water, and since we all know steam is made of water…" Alice's eyes widened at this, and before she knew it, she was being pierced by bullets of water, sending her flying towards the ground.

Hitsugaya looked down to survey the damage. She was bleeding, but it wasn't as bad as he had hoped it would be. But it would have to do for now. He had a lot of questions that needed answering, and this Arrancar was going to answer them whether she liked it or not.

Quickly descending towards the Arrancar, Hitsugaya raised his Zanpakutou once more, ready to deal a blow that would severely injure her. Just as he was about to call out his attack, Alice disappeared. Hitsugaya was momentarily stunned, but this was all the time that Alice needed to send a well-aimed kick in the Shinigami's direction. Although it wasn't very powerful, it caused Hitsugaya to move back so that he was standing next to where Ichigo was laying on the ground.

Alice wiped the blood off her face with her sleeve and flew up into the sky. "That little trick won't work again, Shinigami. I won't die so easily."

Hitsugaya held his Zanpakutou firmly. "Tell me what you know about Sakura," he demanded.

Alice shook her head. "I already told you, she's in the dungeon. Dead." She pointed at the blue-haired Arrancar who was still standing on the top of a lamppost. "Ask Grimmjow if you don't believe me. He's the one who took her away."

At this, Hitsugaya's reiatsu fluctuated again. So it was this Arrancar who kidnapped Sakura. Not thinking straight, he directed his attention towards Grimmjow, and was just about to question him when suddenly he felt himself being flung back towards a wall violently.

Blood trickled down his forehead as Hitsugaya opened his eyes slowly. His head throbbed from the impact, but he was still alright. He saw the female Arrancar approach him, her red wings beating as she descended.

"Emotions are of no use on the arena, my Shinigami friend." Alice sighed. "I don't know who Sakura is to you, but all I know is that Aizen got Grimmjow to get her. She's the brown-haired one, right?" Hitsugaya looked up immediately when he heard this. Alice shook her head sadly. "Thought so. She's honestly dead, the last time I checked. But maybe I was wrong…? I would tell Grimmjow to come over to tell you 'cause he knows more than I do, but I really have to go now." Hitsugaya attempted to reach for Hyorinmaru, but Alice kicked his sword away quickly.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this, or we'll just keep going on forever." She made an 'X' motion with her claws once more, and a series of loud blasts sounded, before Hitsugaya finally hit the ground with a thud, his haori singed.

Alice looked at the Shinigami sadly. Somehow, she felt this strange sense of empathy towards her opponent - it was clear that whoever Sakura was, she was really special to him. It was kind of moving, really. But she was still an Arrancar, and he was the enemy. And as much as she wanted to help him find Sakura, she knew she couldn't. But there was still this strange feeling that was present within her, as if she were missing some important clue to something. Alice shrugged in attempt to get rid of the feeling and walked away, her Resurrección form returning into its sealed form as her Zanpakutou. She quickly sheathed her sword and secured it to her waist.

She called to Grimmjow, who was still watching her from above. "Hey Grimmjow, let's go back. I'm done here."

"About time too - the other Shinigami are on their way over now. Let's go." He opened a Garganta, and the two of them stepped inside.

However, before it closed, Alice took once more look at the white-haired Shinigami that was still lying on the ground, looking at the two Arrancar leave. She smiled sadly, as the gateway closed, swallowing them both in darkness.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya frowned. For a fire-type Arrancar with a Phoenix as a Resurrección, her Zanpakutou sure had a strange contrasting colour. Alice Blue… It was almost like Sakura's own Zanpakutou.

There had to be some connection. There just had to. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. She couldn't be. No, she couldn't be…

These were his last thoughts before he faintly heard Matsumoto's voice calling his name from somewhere above just as he succumbed to fatigue too.

==x==

Emm297: Update! I apologize for the _extremely _long wait… But I'm back! The Aizen arc was so complicated - I really don't know how to fit that in here anymore. But I'll try my best to not let that stop me and I'll try to update again soon! I'm sorry :/ Hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^ I think my writing style has improved slightly since the last update, haha…


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